Abstract
With ten thousand traffic fatalities each year, the French performance in the European road safety field has been bad for many years. France wants to get rid of this image, and this seems to be successful. The number of traffic fatalities in the first seven months of 2003 were 24% less than in the same period in 2002. Speed, alcohol, and compulsory seatbelt use are the spearheads of the new French road safety policy, as well as public awareness.