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Life expectancy up but class gap remains

Matthew Warren
Matthew Warren - [email protected]
Life expectancy up but class gap remains

French men and women can expect to live longer now than ever before but professional workers have longer life expectancy than their blue collar colleagues.

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The data, published by national statistics agency Insee on Wednesday, revealed that over the last 25 years the life expectancy of a 35-year-old woman has increased by 4.4 years. For a man of the same age life expectancy is up by 5 years. 

A professional, white collar woman of 35 can expect to live until she is 87 while a blue collar woman has three years less, at 84. For men the difference is even greater. A professional 35-year-old man has a life expectancy of 82 while his blue collar compatriot can expect to live until he is 76.

The risk of early death is greater among blue collar workers.

"One blue collar worker in two will not reach 80, compared to one professional worker in three," said the report.

The reasons for the gap are numerous, including working conditions, the risk of accidents, lower income and lifestyle differences.

Women still outlive men, no matter what type of worker, with even the most disadvantaged women outliving, on average, professional men by a year and a half. 

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