The French demographic situation is one of both continuity and change. Examining developments in 2007, Gilles Pison draws our attention to three key trends: the remarkable increase in life expectancy since 2003, year of the deadly summer heat wave, the growing popularity of heterosexual civil partnerships (PACS), and the rising proportion of babies born outside marriage, who now account for more than half of all births.

The population of metropolitan France (mainland and Corsica), which stood at 61.9 million on 1 January 2008, grew by 0.5% in 2007. The surplus of births over deaths accounts for four-fifths of this increase, and net migration, i.e. the difference between migrant arrivals and departures, for the remaining one-fifth. Fertility stood at 1.96 children per woman on average in 2007 and remains among the highest in Europe, while life expectancy exceeds 81 years for both sexes combined. Four civil partnerships were registered for ten marriages, and one child in two was born to unmarried parents.

• Almost as many births in 2007 as in 2006

• Life expectancy continues to increase

• Four civil partnerships for ten marriages

• One child in two is born to unmarried parents