French government eyes €1.7bn of saving through family benefits reform

The French government on Monday unveiled new reform of the country's family benefits system to help collect additional 1.7 billion euros (2.2 billion U.S. dollars) by 2016. Detailing France's "radical modernization of family policy," French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announced the lowering of family-related tax benefits that can be claimed by wealthy families from 2,000 to 1,500 euros. "This is an obvious measure of justice. It is not normal that a wealthy family benefits from an advantage more than a poorer family," Ayrault noted. The government also announced tougher conditions for granting child-rearing allowance and parental leave, and cut in tax breaks in secondary schooling. The latest moves will affect 1.3 million rich households in France, representing 12 percent of the country's total households having children. In 2012, France reported 2.5 billion euros of deficit in family allocations. The figure was set to "be even bigger in 2013," according to the minister. (1 euro = 1.30 U.S. dollars)