Access to care and the treatment of people suffering from depressive disorders represent a major public health issue. However, there is virtually no national data from France on this issue within the general population. Data from the survey "Mental Health in the General Population" (CCOMS-DREES, 2004), conducted in France among 36,105 people aged 18 and older, allows us to make an initial assessment of this particularly concerning phenomenon. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on variables associated with depressive disorders and care. As expected, access to care and the treatments received by people with depression prove to be highly problematic; 47.1% of people with depression consider themselves to have been treated for depression, and approximately 20% of those suffering from recurrent or chronic depressive disorders report never having received treatment. Only 53.3% of people with mild or moderate MDD have ever received treatment; 3.2% have undergone psychotherapy without medication; 25.6% of those who received pharmacological treatment report having taken antidepressants; 24% of people with recurrent or chronic depressive disorders have never received treatment, and nearly three-quarters do not receive even minimal adequate treatment.[author’s abstract]