Child support and shared custody in France: when it is owed, who pays, how much

Not automatically. Service-public.fr explains that with shared residence, support can be claimed by the parent who does not have enough income to meet the child’s needs while the child is with them. Where incomes are close and costs shared, that condition is often not met; where the gap is clear, the better-off parent pays a top-up.

The parent with the higher income. The reference table has a “shared” (alterné) column for this case, with lower per-child rates than the other columns (9.0 % for one child), because each parent already covers half of the child’s life directly. The judge also looks at who pays for school meals, activities and clothes.

No. Service-public.fr says so in its sheet on deducting support: with shared residence after a divorce or separation, support is not deductible, because each parent already gets extra family-quotient shares for the child. That is a real difference from standard visiting, where support for a minor child is deductible in full.

Yes, if the decision or agreement includes an indexation clause: the paying parent applies the formula each year, amount × new index ÷ base index, without waiting to be asked. If payments go through ARIPA, the agency does the indexation; where the order says nothing, it uses the all-households consumer price index on the anniversary date.