The aim of this large retrospective cohort study was to use a quasi-exhaustive national medico-administrative database of deliveries in France to determine the risk of developing pancreatic cancer (PC) in women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). This nationwide population-based study included women aged 14–55 who gave birth between 1st January 2008 and 31 December 2009. The women were followed-up epidemiologically for eight years. Survival analyses using Cox regression models, adjusted for age, subsequent type 2 diabetes, and tobacco consumption, were performed on the time to occurrence of hospitalization for PC. The onset of GDM, tobacco consumption and subsequent type 2 diabetes were considered as time-dependent variables. Among 1,352,560 women included, 95,314 had a history of GDM (7.05%) and 126 women were hospitalized for PC (0.01%). Over the eight years of follow-up, GDM was significantly associated with a higher risk of hospitalization with PC in the first Cox regression model adjusted for age and subsequent type 2 diabetes (HR = 1.81 95% CI [1.06–3.10]). The second Cox regression model adjusted for the same covariates, plus tobacco consumption, showed that GDM was still significantly associated with a higher risk of hospitalization for PC with nearly the same estimated risk (HR = 1.77 95% CI [1.03–3.03]). Gestational diabetes was significantly associated with a greater risk of hospital admission for pancreatic cancer within eight years, regardless of subsequent type 2 diabetes.