Under the new regulations governing the treatment of chronic kidney disease (Decrees Nos. 2002-1197 and 2002-1198 of September 2002) and the priorities of the 2004 Public Health Act, the registry of the Network for Epidemiology and Information in Nephrology (Rein) has two primary objectives: to continuously estimate and forecast the population’s needs for dialysis and kidney transplantation, and to evaluate patient care. In 2003, the national Sros-IRCT survey determined the prevalence of dialysis in France, based on indicators defined jointly with Rein. In this article, the incidence of renal replacement therapy for chronic kidney disease, the condition of patients and their care at the start of dialysis, as well as transplant rates and one-year survival rates, are described using data from seven regions that contributed to Rein in 2003: Auvergne, Brittany, Champagne-Ardenne, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, and Rhône-Alpes. (Excerpt from the introduction)