French early childhood education and care provision has been much in the news recently, but whether the Coalition Government would genuinely want to replicate its basic principles must remain doubtful.
These include a commitment to substantive state funding of universal early childhood services in the interests of families' health and well-being and of gender equality in employment, with obligatory employer support for this and other forms of social welfare provision.
In France, employers fund around 60 per cent of family policy through their social contributions. The whole system is founded on principles enshrined in the 1946 French Constitution and regulated via extensive education and public health legislation. The national and local maternal and child health - PMI - services play a key role in supervising staff in the childcare sector and promoting the well-being of children.
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