France road deaths rise in 2025, official figures show
Speed and alcohol remain the leading causes of fatal crashes
Men accounted for 77% of those killed and 75% of serious injuries
Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.
3,515 people in France lost their lives on the road in 2025, an increase of 2.4% compared with 2024.
The final figures published by the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory (ONISR) confirm the rise, with 3,263 deaths in metropolitan France and 252 in overseas territories. Nearly 247,000 people were injured, including around 16,800 seriously.
In metropolitan France, passenger cars were involved in 47% of fatal crashes, followed by motorbike riders and cyclists. Pedestrians accounted for 15% of deaths, while scooter users and other road users, including lorry and bus occupants, made up the rest.
Speed and alcohol remain the main causes of fatal crashes, involved in 29% and 21% of cases respectively. Other factors include inattention, drug use, medical emergencies, and risky driving behaviours such as dangerous overtaking or failure to give way.
Additionally, a large proportion of fatalities occurred in single-vehicle crashes, where no other road user is involved. These represent 42% of road deaths and are often linked to loss of control, speed or impairment.
Men accounted for 77% of those killed and 75% of serious injuries in metropolitan France.
Young adults aged 18 to 24 remain the most affected group, while older road users, particularly those over 75, are also strongly impacted.
Of those killed in metropolitan France, almost two-thirds involved drivers considered responsible for the accident, while just over a third were not at fault. Among those who were not at fault, many were vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and users of light mobility vehicles.
In overseas territories, 252 people were killed on the roads in 2025. Motorbike riders remain particularly affected, and vulnerable road users account for a significant share of fatalities.
“The 2025 road accident statistics are shocking. Behind every road death, there is a shattered family… I refuse to consider these deaths inevitable. The road is not a space for transgression; it is a space of collective responsibility. Caution saves lives,” Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, Minister Delegate to the Interior, said in response to the figures.
For a more detailed breakdown of how road deaths varied across France in 2025, see our interactive map showing departmental trends.
