The survey examined the quality of health care in each of the major cities of the country, as well as the lifestyle of those who lived there, and their state of health. Perpignan is the city with the highest death rate at 11.1 per/1000 population, whilst Boulogne Billancourt in the Ile de France has the lowest rate of mortality at 6.1 per/1000 population.

Lille is the city with the highest rate of tobacoo or alchohol related deaths at 14.1 per 10,000 population aged 40 to 64 years, whilst the lowest is Toulouse at 4.7. Indeed, with the exception of Paris, the incidence of tobacoo and alcohol related deaths is generally much higher in the North of France than in the South, with Brest, Rouen, Le Havre and Caen all scoring highly.

Toulouse is joined by Nice, Marseille, Toulon and Aix en Provence with lower rates.Obesity is greatest in the North Eastern city of Mulhouse, as well as in Reims and Strasbourg, whilst Paris, Rennes and Angers score best for correct weight.Suicide capital of France is Le Mans, closely followed by Brest and Amiens. Paris heads the field with the lowest rate of suicide, followed by Toulouse and Lyon.

Indeed, what is striking about the suicide statistics is the high rate of suicide amongst men, far higher than women, and one of the highest in Europe.

However, whilst the state of health of those in the South might be better than those in the North, that is not always the case with crime.

Nimes takes first place as crime capital of France, with 123 crimes committed per 1000 inhabitants, closely followed by Marseilles, Nice, Montpelier, Paris and Lille. Lowest crime rate is in Limoges, with a crime rate around half of that of Nimes.Other towns with similar crime records to that of Limoges are Le Mans and Clermont Ferrand.

The risk of getting killed in a road accident is highest in Montpelier, followed by Rouen and Le Mans and Caen, all of whom have road accident death rates three times higher than that of Paris, which has the best record on road deaths.