France sees 26% rise in highway fatalities in 2025
France's highway safety report for 2025 shows a 26% increase in deaths on toll motorways, with 162 fatalities compared with 129 in 2024. The total number of deaths on all French highways, toll and non‑toll, rose to 259, an 8.4% increase, while overall road deaths in the country reached 3,515, up 2.4% year‑on‑year.
The leading cause of fatal accidents remained the consumption of alcohol, drugs or medication, cited in 23% of cases, followed by excessive speed (19%) and driver inattention linked to electronic devices (17%). Speed‑related crashes involved mainly young drivers, with more than half of those responsible under 35. Fatigue and somnolence accounted for 16% of fatalities, a decline from the previous year. A total of 143 accidents involved highway professionals, resulting in 13 injuries but no deaths. Women represented only 15% of drivers involved in fatal crashes, despite making up 23% of overall highway traffic.
Entities: Association des sociétés françaises d'autoroutes (Asfa) · France
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 3 SOURCES] Excessive speed caused 19% of fatal accidents, with over half of the drivers involved under 35.
- [● 3 SOURCES] Alcohol, drugs and medication were the leading cause of fatal highway accidents, accounting for 23% of cases.
- [● 2 SOURCES] Overall road deaths in France in 2025 were 3,515, up 2.4% from the previous year.
- [● 2 SOURCES] Driver inattention linked to electronic device use accounted for 17% of fatal accidents.
- [● 2 SOURCES] This represents a 26% increase from 129 deaths in 2024.
- [● 2 SOURCES] 162 people were killed on French toll highways in 2025. (f6407e9c-b431-402d-9da9-13163f6bcf0f, dc997d82-921b-4f11-828c-3d4d53a45de9)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Total fatalities on all French highways in 2025 were 259, an 8.4% increase.
- [● 2 SOURCES] 143 accidents involved highway professionals in 2025, causing 13 injuries and no deaths.