Cancer mortality data for France are presented for each year from 1950 to 2006, and trends in mortality and incidence are compared between 1980 and 2005. Among men, cancer mortality has been declining by 1.5% per year since 1989. This decline is primarily due to the decrease in mortality from cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT), prostate, lung, intestine, and stomach, and is observed despite the increase in mortality from liver, skin, and pancreatic cancers. Among women, mortality has been declining since 1963, and more rapidly by 0.7% per year since 1989. This decrease is mainly due to the decline in mortality from colorectal, breast, stomach, and uterine cancers, and is observed despite the increase in mortality from lung, pancreatic, and skin cancers. Trends in incidence and mortality do not always align. In particular, incidence is increasing and mortality is decreasing, at least in recent years, for prostate, testicular, breast, thyroid, and brain cancers, and—only among women—for VADS. For prostate, breast, and thyroid cancers, the increase in incidence results from changes in diagnostic practices. The decline in breast cancer mortality is explained by the widespread adoption of mammography screening, which has been shown to reduce mortality. The increase in thyroid cancer incidence is limited to papillary cancers, which have very low mortality rates. (R.A.)