Deaths Exceed Births in France for First Time Since End of WWII

Tourists walk along Steinkerque Street with the Sacre-Coeur Basilica on the Montmartre hill in the background, in Paris on Aug. 1, 2025. Dimitar Dilkoff/AFPFrance recorded more deaths than births in 2025, the first time since the end of World War II, as fertility rates fell to a historic low, official data show.France had 645,000 births and 651,000 deaths in 2025, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) said in its 2025 demographic report, published Jan. 13.