Colomiers, a fast-growing town near Toulouse, has long attracted young couples seeking affordable housing. However, like much of France, it is now experiencing a significant drop in fertility rates—down 31% since 2018.
Once known for its high birth rate compared to other European nations, France recorded its lowest number of births in 2024 since 1919. While still above the European average, the country’s fertility rate is declining sharply.
In response, President Emmanuel Macron has called for a “demographic rearmament,” proposing reforms to support new parents, including increased financial aid during the first six months of a child’s life. However, political instability has delayed these policies, leaving their long-term impact uncertain.
Midwife Laurence Loiseau, who has worked in Colomiers for 30 years, has noticed a shift in attitudes. “They will try later in life but that means they will have more difficulty getting pregnant – and by the time they reach 40 it will be very difficult to have a second child,” she says. While some families still have three or four children, they tend to come from poorer or immigrant backgrounds.
Raising children in France is increasingly expensive, with economists estimating the annual cost at nearly €9,000 per child. Meanwhile, midwife Margaux Biscaye observes that many women in their 20s and 30s do not see parenthood as a priority. “Often because of the world we live in right now. It’s not a very optimistic period. Maybe they will change their mind but maybe not,” she notes.
The Occitanie region, where Colomiers is located, has the second-fastest declining fertility rate in France, surpassed only by Corsica, where many young people leave for job opportunities elsewhere. According to Catherine Sourd from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee), the birth rate in Occitanie dropped by 8.5% in 2023, compared to 6.5% nationally, highlighting the deepening demographic challenge.
