In a context characterized by the existence of economic, social and environmental difficulties, this paper aims to present, in a synthetic way, a quantified inventory of the French cattle sector (milk and meat). It is based on the use of various sources of available information, including data from customs, the Farm Accounting Data Network and the Mutualité Sociale Agricole. The first two parts address the question of the dynamics of the dairy and beef markets (production, consumption and trade) by distinguishing successively between the external market (external competitiveness during the period 2000-2019) and the internal market (adequacy between supply and demand, end users of the products); a complementary analysis of the differentiation of supply makes it possible to address the place of the various signs of quality and new forms of commercial demarcation based on a reference to the territory. The last two parts deal with upstream players, focusing first on the competitiveness of French farms over the long term (1990-2018), then on jobs on farms (generational renewal, transformation of farm setting-up).