Introduction - Vaccination of children under 2 years of age with the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Pn7) was introduced in France in January 2003. Methods - The impact of Pn7 was assessed on the incidence of invasive pneumococcal infections, as estimated using data from the Epibac laboratory network. Results - A decrease in the incidence of pneumococcal meningitis and bacteremia among children under 2 years of age was observed in 2005 compared to the pre-vaccination period of 1998–2002. Among children under 2 years of age, the incidence of invasive pneumococcal infections was 41 cases per 100,000 per year in 1998–2002 and 28 cases per 100,000 in 2005, representing a 31% decrease. At the same time, the National Pneumococcal Reference Center shows that the relative proportion of pneumococcal serotypes covered by Pn7 has decreased among pneumococcal meningitis cases in children under 2 years of age. Concurrently, the incidence of pneumococcal bacteremia has increased moderately in those over 2 years of age. Conclusion - The observed decline strongly supports a positive impact of Pn7 in children under 2 years of age. The trend in the incidence of invasive pneumococcal infections and circulating serotypes in France must be analyzed in detail in the coming years. (R.A.)