Longer paid maternity leave in case of premature birth

Article 73 of the 2006 Social Security Financing Act supplements Article L. 331-3 of the Social Security Code: when a child is born more than six weeks before the expected date of delivery, the period of maternity benefit is extended by the number of days between the birth and six weeks before that date. Maternity leave under the Labour Code (Article L. 122-26) and the replacement allowance for women farmers (Article L. 732-12 of the Rural Code) are adapted in the same way. Paragraph III of the article was declared unconstitutional (Decision No. 2005-528 DC). The article sets no effective date: it applies from the entry into force of the Act.