Outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) are common in long-term care facilities. The close proximity of residents and staff in these settings (frequent contact and care interactions, visitors), combined with the risk of person-to-person transmission, contributes to these outbreaks. It is in this context that a specific AGE surveillance system was established in France in 2010 to enable the early identification of outbreaks, promote the immediate implementation of control measures, and describe the outbreaks. This article reviews GEA outbreaks in long-term care facilities for the elderly in mainland France over five surveillance seasons, from November 2010 to May 2015. Over the entire period, 3,549 outbreaks of GEA (defined as the occurrence of at least 5 cases among the facility’s residents) were reported in 3,404 facilities, involving 88,930 affected residents. The attack rate among residents ranged from 28% to 32% depending on the year. The reporting delay decreased from a median of five days for the 2010–2012 seasons to a median of four days for the 2012–2015 seasons. An etiology was investigated for half (48%) of the reported outbreaks, with norovirus identified in 65% to 81% of these outbreaks depending on the year. For 98% of the outbreaks, at least one control measure was implemented regardless of the season. Most of the recommended measures (enhanced hand hygiene, suspension or restriction of group activities for sick residents, etc.) were applied more systematically over the years. The attack rate was significantly lower when control measures were implemented within three days of the onset of symptoms in the first case (IRR=0.90; p