How Covid-19 caused 'historic' fall in life expectancy in France

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While France last week passed the landmark official figure of 100,000 deaths from Covid-19, some have questioned the real significance of the disease on the deathrate of the elderly and the physically weak who, they bluntly argue, would have died sooner or later from other causes. Rozenn Le Saint turned to demographers for their insight into a clouded debate.

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There were some in France who, in face of even the most alarming statistics, were quick to play down the macabre toll of victims of Covid-19, arguing that in the summer of 2020 the phenomenon was comparable to a bad flu epidemic.

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