Pronatalist politics in modern Russia actualized the topic of family values. However, many changes in the institution of marriage and family were predetermined by historical and cultural features of the development of society. The purpose of the article is to present the evolution of family values in France: from the weakening of the traditional family to the assertion of the values of individual self-realization and pleasure. This issue is part of the author's dissertation research. The author used the analysis of documents, statistics and secondary data as research methods. The main methodological foundations of studying the evolution of family values were the theories of E. Durkheim and P. Bourdieu. The evolution of family values is understood by the author as a sociocultural process of continuous change of collective and community-approved ideas about the family, influencing the choice of family goals, strategies, relationships, etc. Results. The author notes the development of trends not only to various types of families, but also to its denial in the youth environment of French society. Cultural changes, which in the anthropological aspect influenced the formation of modern family values and social practices of young people, were consistently revealed. Further in the article, on the basis of the results of sociological studies, the social practices of French youth with regard to family and family values are revealed, which serve as proof of the transformations that have occurred. Discussion. The author comes to the conclusion that the family values of French youth were influenced by changes in the socio-economic and technological patterns of society (family functions), changes in the gender and socio-cultural roles of the main family members, separation of the institutions of parenthood and marriage, the increasing importance of the role of the state in the transmission of family values.