The birth rate, accelerator of French decline

For a long time, France was rocked by its vigorous birth rate. With more than 2.1 children per woman, the threshold for generational renewal, the country was pleased with its natalist exception in a declining West. The fall, which began in 2011, initially went unnoticed. And yet, in almost fifteen years, the number of births has decreased by more than 20%. The threshold today stands at less than 1.66 children per woman. The year 2024 promises to be worse than the previous one, according to the demographic report that INSEE publishes this Tuesday, January 14. In 2023, 678,000 babies were born when 639,000 of their elders disappeared: the curves are getting closer.