Incidence rates of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) are distributed over Europe along a North to South gradient where the values observed in Finland are 7-fold greater than in the South. According to previous data, France represented the bottom of this gradient. A survey in 1988 and 1989 was conducted in order to record all newly diagnosed diabetic children under 20 years of age, in 4 French regions: Aquitaine, Lorraine, lower Normandie, upper Normandie. The mean annual incidence rate was 7.3/10(5), without any significant geographical variation. Age-specific incidence rates indicated two peaks: one in the younger age group and the other around puberty, already described in most incidence studies. The study confirms that France is a country with one of the lowest incidence rate in Europe. It also suggests that incidence has increased over the past decades as in other countries.