tIntroduction. – The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) is a widely used instrument for assessing disso-ciation. However, there is disagreement regarding the internal structure of the DES and scores tend to behighly skewed.Objective. – The present study was designed to test the psychometric properties of a French version ofthe DES in non-clinical participants, in addition to applying a response scale as recommended by Wrightand Loftus (1999) in order to resolve the problem of skewed scores.Results. – Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (computed in two independent samples) suggesteda two-factor solution, which seem to represent two forms of dissociation (“automatic pilot” related disso-ciation episodes and “defensive” dissociation episodes). Results also revealed high internal consistency,and satisfactory results in terms of skewness and floor effects. Finally, significant associations with othermeasures (anxiety, depression, traumatic experiences) indicate good concurrent validity.Conclusions. – This study offers evidence that the present version of the French adaptation of the DESreveals good psychometric properties. Analyses of the internal structure of the DES suggest that twotypes of dissociative experiences are being measured: automatic pilot-related dissociation episodes (e.g.,associated with different types of cognitive failures) and defensive dissociation episodes that may act asdefensive mechanisms, especially in persons who have been traumatized (e.g., the avoidance of a memoryrelated to a traumatic event).