Introduction - The Cosmop project involves the systematic analysis of a mortality surveillance cohort by occupation and economic sector within the general population. Method - The first descriptive study was based on the Permanent Demographic Sample (PDS), representing approximately 1% of the French population, established in 1968 and updated over time with sociodemographic and occupational data from vital records and census reports. The cause of 97% of the observed deaths was identified. Relative risks (RR) of death were systematically calculated by cause for each sector of activity compared to other sectors. Results - Overall mortality (35,968 deaths) and cancer mortality (11,794 cancer deaths) among men (137,860 men with a known occupational status during the study period and included after data validation) are presented. Relative excess mortality is observed primarily in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, while relative undermortality is observed in the agricultural sector and in certain sectors of trade and services. Conclusion - This study provides, for the first time, mortality indicators by cause and by occupational sector for the entire French population. (R.A.)