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This article studies how the French and German systems of (individual and collective) ECEC governance have reacted to the Covid-19 pandemic between its start in March 2020 and the end of 2021. Both countries share a multi-actor governance, involving the central state, the intermediate local level and municipalities. However, the role of Länder and municipalities is stronger in Germany, while in France the importance of the family branch of the social security system is growing. The response to the pandemic has confirmed the pivotal role of the Länder in Germany: the federal State has been able to coordinate their decisions but not to direct them. In France, on the contrary, the State has used the extended powers of the health state of emergency to guide the response to the crisis and the family branch has increased its financial support to childcare centres affected by lockdowns.