Tetanus, a severe acute toxic infection that is often fatal, can be prevented through vaccination. Cases reported in France between 2005 and 2007 are presented here. Methods - In France, only cases of generalized tetanus are subject to mandatory reporting (MR) and must be reported by physicians to the Departmental Directorate of Health and Social Affairs. Results - Over these three years, a total of 41 cases of tetanus were reported, of which 13 resulted in death, representing a case fatality rate of 32%. The distribution of cases is as follows: 17 in 2005, 16 in 2006, and 8 in 2007, corresponding to an incidence of reported cases of 0.28, 0.26, and 0.13 cases per million inhabitants, respectively. The cases mainly involve older adults (90% are 70 years of age or older) and women (76%). The annual incidence by sex was 0.45 cases per million for women and 0.10 for men in 2005, and 0.29 and 0.24 in 2006; in 2007, all reported cases were women with an incidence of 0.25 cases per million. Regarding the route of entry, these were injuries (68% of cases), chronic wounds (10%), but in 22% of cases the route of entry went unnoticed. All cases were unvaccinated or inadequately vaccinated. Discussion - All these cases and deaths could have been prevented through better implementation of the tetanus booster policy and, in the event of a wound, through vaccination and the administration of specific human immunoglobulins according to the recommended protocol. (R.A.)