PARIS, June 1 (Xinhua) -- In Metropolitan France, 2,944 people were killed in road accidents in 2021, the French news channel BFMTV reported on Wednesday.

       Metropolitan France is the part of the country located in Europe, including the island of Corsica.

       According to the French Road Safety Observatory (ONISR) cited by BFMTV, the toll was 9 percent fewer than in 2019 but 16 percent higher than in 2020.

       The ONISR said that the number of traffic-related deaths was the lowest in 2021 since 1926, except for 2020, a year that was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic-related traffic restrictions. In 1926, 2,900 traffic-related deaths were recorded.

       In 2021, the total number of road deaths in Metropolitan France and its overseas territories was 3,219, eight percent less than in 2019, BFMTV reported.