Introduction - The objective of this study was to measure and characterize deaths from everyday accidents in France from 2000 to 2008. Methods - The results were derived from a list of "accidents" based on external causes of injury from the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, and expressed in terms of numbers, crude rates, and age-standardized rates. Results - In 2008, there were 19,703 deaths due to AcVC in metropolitan France (standardized rate of 25.1 per 100,000). Excess mortality was observed among men, at 32.7 per 100,000 among men versus 18.9 per 100,000 among women, representing a male-to-female ratio of 1.7. Two-thirds of deaths from stroke occurred among those aged 75 and older. Falls (11.3 per 100,000), suffocation (3.8/100,000), drowning (1.5/100,000), poisoning (2.0/100,000), and fire-related accidents (0.7/100,000) were the leading causes of death from AcVC. Between 2000 and 2008, the mortality rate from CVD decreased by 2.8% per year. This decrease, which varied by type of CVD, was observed primarily among those under 15 years of age (-5.7% per year). Over the past three years, the number of deaths from CVD has increased: +2.8% from 2006 (18,549) to 2007 (19,061 deaths), and +3.4% from 2007 to 2008. This increase is solely due to demographic changes (a growing elderly population): in fact, age-standardized mortality rates have remained stable, at around 25 per 100,000. Conclusion - Strokes remain a major cause of death in France. Many deaths could be prevented through appropriate preventive measures and regulations. (R.A.)