France Faces First Postwar Demographic Shift as Deaths Edge Past Births
France recorded more deaths (651,000) than births (645,000) in 2025—the first such postwar occurrence—while the fertility rate fell to 1.56, the lowest since WWI and a 24% drop from 2010. Despite this, the population rose to 69.1 million thanks to net migration of about 176,000, signaling an aging society and demographic pressures facing Europe.