Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) has published data every week on the number of deaths in France, regardless of the cause. Figures that allow to assess the excess mortality known by the country since the beginning of March. However, for the latest data available, namely the period from April 27 to May 4, this rate fell completely. Better still, after April 30, there are fewer deaths on French soil than in the same period in previous years. A first since March 15.
On the day of May 4, for example, 1,641 deaths were recorded in 2018 compared to 1,587 in 2019 and 1,488 this year. When on April 1, France recorded a maximum of 2,780 deaths on a single day in 2020 against 1,782 in 2018 and 1,689 in 2019. The differential was then largely explained by the Covid-19 pandemic. Between March 1 and May 4, the excess mortality in France is 24,413 dead according to INSEE. The number of coronavirus-related deaths on health authorities was 25,201 over the same period.
So much for the overall figures in France. But mortality is not equal according to the departments. Those in the Île-de-France region but also Pas-de-Calais, Haute-Marne, Jura, Cher and Aude still recorded a significant excess mortality, exceeding 20%, on week 18 of the calendar ( April 27 to May 3). Seine-Saint-Denis, one of the departments most affected by the coronavirus, recorded 545 more deaths this week compared to 2019. Val-d'Oise follows with 463 additional deaths over a year .
In the rest of the Metropolis, more than half of the departments experienced a drop ranging from 5% to more than 20% of its mortality. This was already the case in mid-April and which is explained, among other things, by a drop in other viral diseases or even road mortality.
