France has crossed a demographic threshold that would have been completely unthinkable just a generation ago.
For the first time since the end of the Second World War, the country recorded more deaths than births—a historic break from its postwar trajectory and a definitive sign of the ongoing, and much-ignored, demographic collapse across Europe and the West.
According to official figures from the national statistics agency INSEE, France recorded roughly 645,000 births in 2025 while deaths climbed to about 651,000.
The negative natural population balance reveals a quiet but profound turning point for a country long accustomed to demographic stability.
The scale of the decline is striking when placed in a broader historical context. Births have declined precipitously, more than 24 percent from their 2010 peak, a collapse that has unfolded in barely fifteen years and shows no sign of reversing.
The statistical agency, in its annual report, also revealed France’s fertility rate dropped again, falling to just 1.56 children per woman, the lowest level since WWI. Crucially, this decline cannot be explained by fewer women of childbearing age, a point INSEE itself acknowledged. Instead, the data points to a deeper civilizational problem: Europeans are choosing not to have children.
The average age of first-time mothers has climbed past 31, reflecting delayed family formation and the continued erosion of stable social and economic foundations.
Deaths rose modestly, driven in part by a severe winter flu season and summer heat waves. Even as life expectancy remains historically high, longevity alone fails to compensate for a society that is no longer reproducing itself.
Despite the negative natural balance, France’s total population still grew slightly, reaching 69.1 million. That growth, as Western nations have become accustomed to over the years, came entirely from net migration, estimated at roughly 176,000 people in a single year.
This is the insidious demographic sleight of hand now common across the Western world. Native populations decline or stagnate, while governments rely on mass immigration from the Third World nations to prop up headline population figures.
The result is steady demographic replacement. A nation that cannot sustain itself biologically is being reshaped administratively, without consent or serious public debate.
The age structure of France highlights the sheer gravity of the situation. As of early 2026, roughly 22 percent of the population was aged 65 or older, nearly equal to the share under 20.
Two decades ago, the country was visibly younger. Today, it is aging rapidly, with fewer workers, fewer families, and mounting pressure on social systems built for a very different demographic reality.
Marriage numbers have ticked up slightly, but this offers little reassurance. Legal formalities cannot offset a culture that has deprioritized family, children, and continuity in favor of liberal individualism at any cost and short-term economic thinking.
Observers across the political spectrum have acknowledged the severity of the figures. Even analysts who once dismissed demographic warnings now concede that 2025 represents a genuine break from the past.
Notably, earlier projections from France’s own demographic institutions assumed fertility would remain higher than what has now materialized. Reality has undershot even the most pessimistic official scenarios.
France, unfortunately, is not alone. Across Europe, birth rates are collapsing with alarming consistency, from Germany and Sweden to Poland and Czechia. In Poland, fertility has fallen to around 1.12 children per woman, one of the lowest rates ever recorded in Europe. Germany’s situation is scarcely better, especially among its native population, where births have dropped to multi-decade lows.
This is not just an economic matter. It has a political and cultural element as well. Nations with governments and cultures that devalue family, undermine tradition, import millions upon millions of migrants from alien cultures who do not respect local customs ought not be surprised when their people stop believing in the future.
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