Objective - To conduct a study of premature mortality (occurring before age 65) on a cohort drawn from INSEE’s Permanent Demographic Sample (a sample representative of the French population to within 1%), comprising 97,981 men, of whom 12,788 had identified themselves as construction workers in the 1968 census. Methods - External comparison: standardized mortality ratios calculated using the general male population of France as a reference. Internal comparison: relative risks of premature mortality by cause calculated for all construction workers using the 85,193 workers in other industries from the 1968 census as a reference. Results - Among construction workers, 1,908 deaths were observed during the study period (1974–1999), and both external and internal comparisons revealed significant excess mortality from cancer—particularly respiratory tract cancer—and accidental falls, as well as lower-than-average mortality from infectious diseases. Analysis by socio-occupational category indicates that these results are primarily observed among manual laborers. Conclusions - Despite the possible role of extraprofessional factors (alcohol, tobacco, diet) and the potential limitations of the study, excess mortality is demonstrated in the construction sector for causes attributable to known occupational risk factors. (R.A.)