The latest mortality statistics available in France, for 1994, are presented and show that the first cause of death was cardiovascular disease (32%) followed by cancer (27%). Previsional estimations for 1997 reveal that in men, there will be an expected 85,000 deaths from cancer, the first cause of mortality in men, the first three localizations being lung cancer (24%), prostate cancer (11%) and colorectal cancer (10%). In women, there will be an estimated 55,000 deaths due to cardiovascular disease, the primary cause of mortality. Breast cancer is expected to be the number one cause of death by cancer (20%) followed by colorectal cancer (14%) and lung cancer (7%).