Foot complications are among the most serious complications of diabetes, both in human and financial terms. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy causes a loss of sensation that increases the risk of foot ulcers, a condition exacerbated by diabetic arteriopathy, which can lead to amputation. While one of the main objectives of the international consensus issued in the 1989 Saint Vincent Declaration was to halve lower limb amputations among people with diabetes within five years, no study to date has estimated the incidence of diabetes-related amputations in mainland France. In 2005, the National Diabetes Action Program focused one of its objectives on improving the prevention of foot lesions in the diabetic population [www.sante.gouv.fr], notably through a project to reimburse podiatric care for people with diabetes who have high-risk foot lesions. To contribute to the evaluation of this program, an estimate of the incidence of lower limb amputations among people with diabetes was conducted using medical-administrative databases from the Medical Information System (PMSI). This analysis also allowed for a comparison of the incidence and characteristics of amputations among people with and without diabetes. (Introduction)