Introduction - As part of the first national plan to combat hepatitis C, the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance (ISP) established a hepatitis C surveillance system in 2000 through a national network of public and private laboratories (Rena-VHC) and reference centers. This article presents data on trends in hepatitis C screening from 2000 to 2007 derived from these two systems. Methods - The analyses cover: screening activity and the characteristics of individuals confirmed as anti-HCV positive for Rena-VHC; the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of "recently screened" anti-HCV-positive patients newly taken into care by the reference centers. Results - Between 2000 and 2007, HCV screening activity increased, while the positivity rate (ratio of positive results to the number of HCV tests) decreased (from 1.3% to 0.6%). Individuals confirmed as HCV-positive by Rena-HCV are more often men (60.7%) and, on average, younger than women (46 vs. 54 years). Among the 9,184 "recently screened" individuals newly taken on by the referral centers, hepatitis C is predominantly and increasingly often detected during a routine health check-up (46.2% in 2001 and 56.8% in 2007). More than one in 10 patients had advanced-stage liver disease in 2007. Discussion - Despite certain limitations, particularly regarding extrapolation, the data from these two networks allow for the monitoring of trends and suggest the need to optimize hepatitis C screening in France. (R.A.)