Do parents in France risk a fine for picking children up late from school?
Fines can be imposed if a child is frequently absent from school
Teachers or other school staff must stay beyond usual working hours to keep watch of children, if parents do not collect their children
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An increasing number of schools in both urban and rural areas of France now issue fines to parents who are late to collect children from school.
This policy is being used as a deterrent against parents who leave their children in the care of teachers or workers who must stay later than usual to look after children.
In some cases, these fines supplement the salary of teachers and carers who must stay later to keep watch over children until parents arrive.
The policy is proving popular with schools and local authorities, however there are no plans for it to be introduced nationally.
Read more: French mayor introduces fines for parents late to pick up children from school
Fines vary in amount
The amount of the fines can vary depending on location.
In Toulouse, there is a flat €30 fee for parents who arrive late to pick up their children, after more than 8,000 cases of late arrivals per year have been recorded recently.
However, it is not levied on parents who are a few minutes late, or otherwise only turn up late once.
In Morlaàs (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) the fines are staggered based on how many times parents commit an infraction, with the first offence seeing a €5 fine, rising to €15 for subsequent delays.
Other locations such as Moreuil (Somme) see fines rise steadily depending on the length of absence – €5 for less than 15 minutes, €10 for a 30-minute delay, and €50 if they are late by an hour or more.
Are parents fined if their child is absent from school?
A flurry of social media posts claimed the parents of children who did not attend the first day of school for the 2024/2025 year would be fined €135.
This proved to be fake news, with no law stipulating such a punishment.
However, parents can be fined if their children are frequently absent, following a warning from the Education Nationale.
If absences continue after this warning is posted, a fine of €750 may be imposed on parents.
Guardians who jeopardise the education of a child via repeated absences risk a two-year prison sentence and €30,000 fine.
Generally, if a child is absent for more than four half-days in a month (without justifiable reasons such as sickness with a doctor’s note), the school reaches out to parents to check everything is okay.
When this rises to 10 half-day absences in a month, the school inspector is notified, and if the absences continue, the public prosecutor may be called in.
Read more: What changes in schools for the 2024 autumn rentrée in France
