The National Confidential Survey on Maternal Deaths (ENCMM) aims to collect detailed information on all maternal deaths occurring in France in order to analyze their epidemiology and the quality of care provided. This report covers deaths occurring between 2001 and 2006. A total of 463 maternal deaths were identified, representing an adjusted rate of 9.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The risk of maternal mortality increases with women’s age, starting at age 30, and more significantly beyond age 35 (the risk is three times higher for women aged 35–39 and six times higher for women aged 40 and older). Foreign nationality is associated with an increased risk of maternal mortality, particularly for women from sub-Saharan Africa. There are also geographic disparities. Compared to other regions in mainland France, the maternal mortality ratio is 30% higher in the Île-de-France region and three times higher in the overseas regions. Most maternal deaths are due to direct obstetric causes (73%), with the main underlying conditions being hemorrhage (25%), amniotic fluid embolism (12%), pregnancy-induced hypertension complications (10%), and venous thromboembolism (10%). Half of maternal deaths were deemed preventable by the National Expert Committee. The most frequently preventable deaths are those related to hemorrhage (86%) or sepsis (90%). Each group of causal conditions (hemorrhage, amniotic fluid embolism, thromboembolism, complications of hypertension, anesthetic complications, indirect obstetric causes) is the subject of a specific chapter presenting the characteristics of the women involved and describing several particularly illustrative cases, followed by recommendations to improve the quality of care. (R.A.)