Overview
- Using 2020 data, researchers report that nearly one in three women aged 60 and over, and more than half of those over 75, hold legal widow status in France.
- In 2020, about 3.6 million people aged 60+ were legally widowed and 81% were women; in 2022, roughly 250,000 married people became widowed, including 170,000 women and 77,400 men.
- Women spend about 13 years widowed on average, with earlier widowhood observed among those in more disadvantaged social groups.
- The patterns are linked to women’s longer life expectancy and a higher tendency for men to remarry after losing a spouse.
- Survivors’ pensions tied to marriage totaled €38.7 billion in 2024 (1.3% of GDP), PACS and cohabiting partners are not eligible, and a cross‑party bill introduced in 2025 seeks to extend these rights as widowed people face higher poverty rates.