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France is often cited as one of the few advanced industrialized countries to have reversed a falling birthrate. Dominique Meda, a researcher at the National Research Center for Employment in France, said the turnaround owed much to heavy government spending for child-care support as well as the country's social values that emphasize family ties.
Like many other European countries, France faces an unavoidable aging of its population, but the birthrate is no longer considered a problem, Meda told the Oct. 31 symposium.