INSEE notes a clear excess mortality over the year 2022, which the Covid-19 is not enough to explain

INSEE has noted the persistence of a clear excess mortality in France in 2022 compared to a year “normal”, excluding epidemics or unusual events, according to figures published on Tuesday June 6 by the Institute of Statistics. Thus, 675,000 people died in France in 2022, i.e. 53,800 more deaths than expected, given the age of the population and the trends recorded over the previous 10 or 15 years.

The deviation from the forecast (+8.7%) is greater than that observed in 2021 (+6.9%) and in 2020 (+7.8%), the year when the Covid epidemic exploded. However, Covid 19 killed significantly fewer people in 2022, with 38,300 dead compared to 59,100 in 2021, according to figures from Public Health France.

“Deaths from causes other than Covid-19 have therefore increased”indicates INSEE, which mentions “the two flu epidemics” in March-April and December 2022, as well as the high temperatures of summer 2022. “Finally, the Covid 19 epidemic may have led since 2020 to an increase in deaths due to indirect effects, such as postponements of operations or reductions in screening for other diseases”, assumes Insee. The French population may also be facing a more structural development, with a brake on the gains in life expectancy that were observed each year, explains INSEE.

“There may also be an interruption or a break” in the downward trend in mortality, “but without it being possible to identify him yet”explains the institute.