Background: This study presents the French validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey (MBI-GS). The MBI-Human Services Survey, MBI-Educators Survey and MBI-GS questionnaires have been validated in numerous languages and are currently being used in many countries, as attested by the abundant literature on the subject. Burnout has received considerable media attention around the world as public awareness grows about this increasingly prevalent phenomenon. As a major social issue that can potentially affect any employee in any field, we felt it was both timely and necessary to conduct a validation study adapted to French culture. Methods: After performing both forward and back translations, a questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of 1,312 French employees. Results: Psychometric analysis revealed excellent internal consistency for the three dimensions of MBI (Exhaustion, Cynicism and Professional Inefficacy), a factorial structure almost identical to that reported in the original study, and satisfactory convergent validity. Average scores were grouped into five clusters of identifying variables chosen to provide a SCIREA Journal of Health http://www.scirea.org/journal/PMH May 27, 2019 Volume 3, Issue 2, April 2019 25 clear picture of mean scores in France: gender, age, occupational status, company size and business sector. Hierarchical classification analysis based on respondents’ scores for Exhaustion, Cynicism and Professional Inefficacy resulted in six distinct employee profiles. These groups are described and analyzed considering both MBI scores and responses to additional psychological health questionnaires designed to measure indicators of strain (stress, anxiety and depression symptoms, and need for recovery). These results are discussed in the context of preventing work-related burnout and more broadly, toward preventing psychosocial risks. Conclusions: The factorial structure shares strong similarities with those found in the literature for versions of the MBI which have been translated into different languages, analyses showed excellent internal consistency in the three sub dimensions and the convergent validity has been demonstrated. Applying cross-correlation to scores for the three dimensions of burnout with scores on other instruments for assessing psychological disorders, allowed us to identify “at risk” profiles which produced highly relevant results with regard to burnout prevention. Trial registration: data were collected by OpinionWay in accordance with the requirements of European regulation n° 2016/679/EU.