The partnership program for the epidemiological surveillance of cancers involves the regular production of epidemiological indicators. As part of this effort, a study estimating the survival of people with cancer in France is produced every five years using data from French cancer registries (the Francim network). In the context of population-based survival studies, it is standard practice to publish estimates of overall survival and net survival (formerly known as “relative survival”). Net survival is the survival that would be observed if the only possible cause of death were the cancer under study. It therefore exists within a framework that does not correspond to reality; however, by eliminating differences in mortality due to causes other than cancer, it allows for comparisons between countries and time periods. Recent methodological developments have improved the quality of net survival estimates. They were used in the analysis of the latest survival study conducted using Francim data, published in 2013. This article clarifies the concept of net survival and the framework for its statistical estimation, and discusses some results from this latest study. (R.A.)