Introduction. This study examines trends in hospitalization rates for stroke between 2002 and 2008 and variations by sex and age group. Methods. Data were extracted from the national PMSI-MCO databases for the years 2002 through 2008. The geographic scope is national. Hospitalizations for stroke were selected based on the primary diagnosis (ICD-10 codes I60 to I64, as well as code G46 with an associated diagnosis of stroke). Only the first annual hospital stays for each patient were included. Annual rates of hospitalizations for stroke were standardized to the 1999 French population, and annual trends were analyzed using Poisson regression. Results. A decrease in age-standardized rates (2.6%) is observed, reflecting different trends by age: rates decreased after age 65 (7.8% for men, 6.1% for women), but increased before age 65 (+9.7% and +12.9%). Analysis by age group shows significant increases for men aged 25 to 64 and women aged 25 to 54. Discussion and conclusion. Over the period under review, there was a reduction in the rates of people hospitalized for stroke in the population aged 65 years or older, without the ability to distinguish the respective trends in incidence (first stroke) and recurrence. The increase observed before age 65 does not appear to be due to changes in the definition of transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) (now diagnosed as strokes if imaging is positive), since hospitalization rates for TIAs increased more sharply for these same age groups. This trend has been described in several countries. Various explanatory hypotheses can be discussed, such as more systematic hospitalization for minor events and the rise in obesity. (R.A.)