Objective To measure and characterise deaths due to home and leisure injuries in France (63 million inhabitants) from 2000 to 2006.

Method The data come from death certificates, collected exhaustively. Causes of death are coded by using the external causes of injury codes of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision. The results are expressed in numbers, crude death rates, and age-adjusted death rates.

Results In 2006, 18 549 deaths due to home and leisure injuries occurred in France, that is, an age-adjusted death rate of 25.2/100 000. This death rate was 1.7 times higher for males than that for females: 32.2/100 000 versus 19.4/100 000. They are largely different with age: from a minimum of 1.3 among children aged 5–14 (99 deaths), to a maximum of 584 up to 85 years (7327 deaths). Three fourths of home and leisure injuries deaths occurred up to 65 years (13 950 deaths), among which 57% were due to falls. The leading causes of deaths were: falls, 11.9/100 000; suffocations, 3.8; drowning, 1.6; poisoning, 1.5; fire accidents, 0.7. Between 2000–2002 and 2004–2006, the age-adjusted death rate decreased by 11%. This decrease was the highest for people under 15 years of age, 24%. Up to 65 years, the decrease was 13% (minus 1358 deaths).

Conclusion In spite of the decrease between 2000 and 2006, home and leisure injuries remain a significant cause of death in France. Most of these deaths could be avoided with adapted prevention and regulation measures.