and even, in some resorts, free ski passes for the fifth family member (lest the cost of the compulsory February activity become prohibitive). In addition to virtually non-existent childcare costs and government-sponsored rehabilitation of mothers' baby-making equipment, reproduction in France has much to recommend it.
Of course, to benefit from the munificence of the French state, one has not only to give birth to additional children, but to remain in France. Prospective parents might do well to think this through before they embark on any course of action. Not only does raising a family in France com-mit you to a lifetime of being corrected on the use of the subjonctif by young relatives barely out of nappies, it also means that your children will demand at least three courses, one of which should be fromage, at every meal. You will tie yourself in to years of rote-learned poetry: charming when it is directed towards your many and manifold virtues on Mother’s Day, but rather less so when you are hearing a child drone on about the rentrée for the fifth time in their primary school career. You will have to learn to decipher that French curly script, le cursive, if you ever want to stand a chance of understanding a word that your child writes, and if they show the slightest glimmer of musical talent, you will become as expert as Julie Andrews on the subject of the gender of deer, or how far to run.
In other words, the reduction in your tax bill comes at a price, which is why at our annual summit we postponed any decision until next year…
Emily Commander is a freelance writer and journalist who lives in Lyon and blogs about the peculiarities of French life. You can find her at www.lostinlyon.com