“…Most of these were young men, a phenomenon which can have a strong effect on nuptiality and fertility 16 . According to the last estimates, 1 300 000 to 1 450 000 French soldiers were killed during the First World war 17 , representing 17% of men born in 1881-1885, 19 % of those born in 1886-1890 and 24.5 % of those born in 1891-1895, the cohort the most affected by the war 18 . This excess of male deaths naturally led to an imbalance of the sex ratio that should in turn have led to a strong increase of female permanent celibacy.…”