France Child Support: A Parent's Guide

In short: In France, child support is called pension alimentaire, and it flows from the broader legal duty both parents owe their child to contribute to their entretien et éducation (upkeep and education) in proportion to their means. The Ministry of Justice publishes an official but non-binding barème (table de référence) that judges and parents use as a guideline. A distinctive French feature is ARIPA, a Caf-administered system that can collect and forward support payments directly between parents, now the automatic default for most new orders, reducing direct parent-to-parent friction over payment.

This is an educational overview written for parents, not lawyers. It isn't legal advice. For anything beyond general understanding, consult a licensed French family law attorney (avocat en droit de la famille) or use the resources at Service-Public.fr and pension-alimentaire.caf.fr.

Pension alimentaire: the maintenance obligation

Under the Code civil, parents owe their child entretien et éducation regardless of their relationship status or living arrangement, this obligation exists independently of parental authority itself and continues even where parental authority has been limited. When a child lives with, or splits time between, separated parents, the parent who has the child less (or who has meaningfully higher means) typically pays the other a pension alimentaire, a periodic cash contribution meant to cover the child's share of everyday costs, housing, food, school, activities, alongside whatever each parent covers directly during their own time with the child.

The obligation is proportional: it's based on each parent's resources and the child's needs, not a flat amount, and it generally continues until the child is genuinely self-supporting, which in France can extend past the age of majority (18) if the child is still in education or otherwise unable to support themselves, this isn't an automatic cutoff at 18 the way some other systems treat it.

The official barème guideline table

Since 2010, the Ministry of Justice has published a table de référence (commonly called the barème) to help judges and parents arrive at consistent, reasonable pension alimentaire amounts across the country. The table works from:

• The paying parent's net monthly income, after subtracting a protected minimum (set near the RSA level)
• The number of children the support obligation covers
• The type of residence arrangement: classic residence with visitation and overnight stays, alternating residence, or reduced visitation, since the type of arrangement changes how much of the child's day-to-day cost each parent already absorbs directly

Applying a percentage to the payer's income above the protected minimum, adjusted for these factors, produces an indicative figure. Below a low income threshold, the table generally sets no support obligation at all.

Importantly, the table is explicitly indicative, not binding. A JAF can depart from it where the actual facts warrant, real housing costs, debts, other children the payer supports, a child's specific medical or educational needs, and parents are free to agree to a different amount by mutual consent, provided it adequately serves the child's needs. The Ministry of Justice provides an online simulator built on the current table as a starting-point estimate.

ARIPA: direct intermediated payment collection

A distinctive feature of the French system is the Agence de Recouvrement et d'Intermédiation des Pensions Alimentaires (ARIPA), administered through the Caf (Caisse d'allocations familiales) and MSA. Rather than one parent paying the other directly each month, ARIPA can sit in between: it collects the pension alimentaire from the paying parent and forwards it to the receiving parent shortly after receipt, on a date the paying parent selects (the 1st, 10th, or 15th of the month, unless the order specifies otherwise).

Since a 2023 reform, this financial intermediation is set up automatically by default whenever a pension alimentaire amount is fixed by an enforceable title, a JAF decision, a notarized agreement, or a Caf/MSA-approved separation agreement, unless both parents jointly ask to opt out or a recognized exception applies. The service is free. Beyond simply routing payments, ARIPA is also the front line for enforcement: from the first month a payment is missed, it can pursue amicable and then forced recovery on the receiving parent's behalf, without that parent needing to separately chase the payment or return to court for routine non-payment.

Applying, varying, and enforcing support

Setting the initial amount. Pension alimentaire can be set by agreement between the parents (including through a notarized convention or a Caf/MSA-approved separation agreement) or by the JAF as part of a broader decision on parental authority and the child's residence. The ministry's barème and online simulator are commonly used as a reference point going in.

Requesting a modification. Either parent can ask the JAF to revisit the amount when circumstances materially change, income, employment, the child's needs, or the residence/visitation split (which factors directly into the barème's calculation). Parents can also agree to a new amount themselves, though for it to be enforceable in the same way as the original order, it generally needs to be formalized appropriately.

Enforcement. With intermediation now the default, most non-payment is handled through ARIPA's collection process. Outside or alongside that, unpaid pension alimentaire can be pursued through ordinary civil enforcement channels, and a receiving parent facing non-payment may also be able to claim the allocation de soutien familial from the Caf as a stopgap allowance while recovery is pursued.

Common questions

Does 50/50 alternating residence mean no support is owed? Not necessarily, see the FAQ above, an income gap between parents can still justify a payment even with an even time split, since the obligation tracks proportional means, not only time with the child.

Can support be backdated? Generally, a modification only takes effect from when the request was filed, not retroactively before that, which is part of why raising a genuine change in circumstances promptly matters.

What if my co-parent isn't paying? With intermediation now standard for most new and modified orders, ARIPA is usually the first channel to pursue, contact pension-alimentaire.caf.fr. Where intermediation isn't in place, standard civil enforcement routes and the allocation de soutien familial are worth asking about.

Does the pension alimentaire cover everything, or are some costs split separately? It's meant to cover ordinary day-to-day costs. Extraordinary or exceptional expenses, certain medical costs, some school trips, some major purchases, are sometimes addressed separately in the parents' agreement or the court's decision, rather than assumed to be folded into the monthly amount.

Practical considerations

Because the barème weighs the residence/visitation split as one of its direct inputs, disagreements about the actual day-to-day schedule can end up shaping the support number too, which is a reason to keep a clear, current, shared record of the residence arrangement, not just at the point a JAF or ARIPA needs it, but as ongoing practice. For the residence and parental-authority rules that shape the underlying time split, see the France custody guide.

Official France resources

• Code civil, Article 371-2 (Obligation d'entretien et d'éducation des parents)
• Service-Public.fr: Pension alimentaire pour un enfant
• Justice.fr: Barème des pensions alimentaires
• ARIPA (Caf): Qu'est-ce que l'Aripa
• ARIPA (Caf): L'intermédiation financière

Related OnePage resources

• Child support calculator and guideline finder
• What is a parenting plan
• Custody schedule generator

Related France pages

• France hub
• France custody guide