The oldest of the French, Irénise Moulonguet, died Tuesday evening at the age of 112 in Martinique. But, which are the French regions where we live the longest?
Irénise Moulonguet, oldest of the French, died Tuesday evening at the age of 112 in her native island, Martinique. This former agricultural worker in the banana fields spent most of her life on her island, except between 13 and 29 years old, where she had lived in Guyana. Widowed at a very young age, she had three daughters and a total of 75 descendants, including 12 great-great-grandchildren. “I knew she was suffering lately, but I didn’t think she would leave so quickly, ”Jenny Dulys-Petit, the mayor of Morne-Rouge, the town where Ms. Moulonguet resided, told AFP.
Our dean lived in this region where life expectancy is at the level of the French average with 84.8 years for women.
But, what are the regions where the French live the longest?
According to 2011 figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee), it is in Ile-de-France that men live the oldest with a life expectancy of 79.9 years (78 , 4 years for the national average). The Midi-Pyrénées (79.8) and Corsica (79.1) regions complete the top three. And, on the women’s side, the Rhône-Alpes region comes first with an average of 85.7 years. The Aquitaine (85.6) Pays de Loire (85.5) and Ile-de-France (85.4) regions follow.
According to INSEE, Île-de-France’s good position in this ranking stems in particular from the high proportion of executives and higher intellectual professions in the region. Indeed, these are the categories that live the longest, while workers have the shortest life expectancy.
Conversely, among the French regions where men die the youngest, Nord-Pas-de-Calais occupies the least favorable position, with a male life expectancy of 75.3 years. Guyana (76.2), Réunion (76.5) and Picardy (76.6) follow. And on the women’s side, here again Nord-Pas-de-Calais has the worst average with 82.8 years, tied with Guyana. Next come Reunion (82.9) and Picardy (83.2)
This time, the Institute explains that these bad figures, especially in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, stem from the working-class origin of a high proportion of inhabitants, but also from the mining and steel context as well as from regional lifestyles. Indeed, faced with alcohol, the Nord-Pas-de-Calais (but also the PACA region) have more daily drinkers. And the quantities consumed are generally higher in these regions, where people who consume alcohol every day represent 5% of the adult population.
Source: Insee, Civil status
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