In France, the Family Allowance Office (Caisse d’Allocations Familiales, CAF) allows families to benefit from social assistance according to certain criteria.

If you have children, you can apply for family assistance through the CAF website. For example:
 

Family allowance - Les allocations familiales

Family allowance - allocations familiales are allocated from the birth of the second child in your family. Both children must be under 20 years old for the family to benefit from these allowances. The amount of aid varies according to the family situation and financial situation.

Back-to-school benefit - L'allocation de rentrée scolaire

Back to school benefit - allocation de rentrée scolaire allows eligible families to receive an allowance for the purchase of school supplies. To benefit, you must have one or more children attending school (primary, secondary or higher education), who are between 6 and 18 years old. The amount allocated depends on the age of each child (the allowance may be different from one child to another within the same household), and on your financial situation.

Complementary family allowance - Le complément familial

Complementary family allowance - complément familial is intended for families with at least 3 children between 3 and 21 years old. This benefit is calculated according to your family’s financial resources.

Early childhood benefit - La Prestation d’Accueil du Jeune Enfant

Early Childhood beefit - Prestation d’Accueil du Jeune Enfant (PAJE) is for families expecting a new child. Depending on your situation, the CAF allocates different financial aid. A birth grant and basic allowance when the child is born or adopted. A shared child-rearing benefit (prestation partagée d’éducation de l’enfant, PreParE) if the child is born after December 31, 2014 or the working credit (complément de libre choix d’activité, Clca) if either parent stops or reduces their work hours to care for the child. Finally, a care credit (complément de libre choix du mode de garde, CMG) can be given to parents if their child is cared for by a certified childminder, an association, a company or nursery. All of these benefits are cumulative and depend on the financial situation of the family.


Other benefits are available in special situations, for example if the child is disabled, or injured. Find all the details on the CAF site.

In most cases an online calculation is possible in order to determine if you are eligible for these subsidies. Usually, the decision is based on your financial need, but your family situation is also considered.

Before you can submit a request for subsidies online, you need to download a form to make a detailed declaration of your family's situation and income ("Déclaration de situation pour les prestations familiales et les aides au logement") to obtain a CAF number -"numéro d'allocataire".