PIP: French population policy developments since 1945 are reviewed and compared to events in other developed countries. The author notes that the original objectives of French policy were to ensure a certain standard of living to children in families, regardless of the size of the family. However, over the course of time, the right not to have more children than parents wanted became another policy objective. He also notes that the level of support for families has declined in real terms over time and that France has now been overtaken by other Western countries, such as Sweden and the United Kingdom.