In 2024, the number of deaths in France was 646,000, an increase of 7,000 deaths compared with 2023. This difference is not due to any deterioration in the population’s health—life expectancy at birth continued to increase over the year, reaching 80.0 years for men and 85.6 for women—but to the ageing of the population. Significant variation can be seen between types of department (département), with differences in life expectancy of as much as 2.5 years among the departments of overseas France (départements d’outre-mer, DOM) and urban departments, the latter being the most affluent and benefitting from an advantage in all broad cause-of-death categories. Throughout the country, however, progress in life expectancy has been slowing since the end of the 20th century. Decreasing cardiovascular disease mortality continues to play a key role in extending life expectancy, while mortality due to cancer, the leading cause of death in France since the 1990s, is declining more slowly. Trends in deaths due to external causes are more concerning, as are the rates of respiratory disease mortality among older people, both of which have stabilized at relatively high levels of mortality. On the other hand, patterns are more positive for other cause-of-death categories (in particular, non-respiratory infectious diseases and diseases of the digestive system).