An international multicenter study titled "Mental Health in the General Population: Images and Realities" (SMPG), led by the Northern Association of Psychiatric Epidemiology (Asep) and the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Research and Training in Mental Health (CCOMS, Lille, France), was conducted in France between 1999 and 2003. The overall objective of this survey was, on the one hand, to describe the general population’s perception of mental health—not only regarding disorders but also healthcare facilities and professionals—and, on the other hand, to estimate the prevalence of various psychiatric disorders. The questionnaire included, among other things, several questions about employment. The Health and Work Department of the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS) was tasked with analyzing mental health according to these occupational characteristics, in order to provide an initial overview of mental health disorders in France by occupational activity. First, the prevalence of each mental disorder is described according to employment status and then according to socio-professional category. Second, the impact of having a mental disorder on professional life is presented. (R.A.)