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Events
- 3 March - ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty by the French National Assembly.
- 17 March - ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty by the Senate.
- 24 March - Fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel kills 39 people, closing the tunnel for nearly three years.
- 13 June - European Parliament election in France.
- 11 August - a total solar eclipse occurs in the north of France.
- 13 October - Pacte civil de solidarité (a type of civil union) adopted by French Parliament.
- 12 December - a ship, Erika, breaks up near Penmarc'h spilling 37 000 tons of fuel, causing an oil slick on the Breton, Vendean and Charentaise coasts. Loire-Atlantique is particularly affected.
- 26 December and 28 December - storms Lothar and Martin cause heavy damage with winds reaching 180 km/h. The total damage includes more than 90 dead, 6 billion euros paid by the insurers and 10,000 km² of forest devastated.
Arts and Literature
- 2 September - Publication of Jean-Marie Guéhenno's "L'avenir de la liberté - La démocratie dans la mondialisation", which examines the problems arising from confrontation between the democracy and globalisation
Sport
- 27 June - French Grand Prix won by Rubens Barrichello of Brazil.
- 3 July - Tour de France begins.
- 25 July - Tour de France ends, won by Lance Armstrong of the United States.
Births
Deaths
January
- 6 January — Michel Petrucciani, Jazz pianist (b.1962).
- 19 January — Jacques Lecoq, actor, mime and acting instructor (b.1921).
- 24 January - Roger Rondeaux, cyclo-cross racer (b.1920).
- 25 January - Henri Rochereau, politician and European Commissioner (b.1908).
- 26 January - Jeanne-Marie Darré, pianist (b.1905).
February
- 3 February - Luc Borrelli, soccer player (b.1965).
- 12 February - André Devigny, soldier and French Resistance member (b.1916).
- 18 February - Andreas Feininger, photographer (b.1906).
March
- 12 March - André Nocquet, aikido teacher (b.1914).
- 17 March - Jean Pierre-Bloch, French Resistance member (b.1905).
- 21 March — Jean Guitton, Catholic philosopher and theologian (b.1901).
May
- 25 May - René Gallice, soccer player (b.1919).
June
- 9 June - Maurice Journeau, composer (b.1898).
- 19 June — Henri, comte de Paris, Orléanist claimant to the French throne (b.1908).
- 28 June - Louis Ducatel, politician and businessman (b.1902).
- 30 June — Edouard Boubat, photographer (b.1923).
July to October
- 16 July — André Martinet, linguist (b.1908).
- 30 August - Raymond Poïvet, cartoonist (b.1910).
- 15 September - Michel Pinseau, architect (b.1924).
- 4 October — Bernard Buffet, painter (b.1928).
- 27 October - Charlotte Perriand, architect and designer (b.1903).
November
- 3 November — Alan Heusaff, Breton nationalist and linguist (b.1921).
- 9 November - Claude Ballot-Léna, motor racing driver (b.1936).
- 11 November - Alphonse Antoine, cyclist (b.1915).
- 21 November - Serge Lang, journalist, alpine skier, and founder of the alpine skiing World Cup (b.1920).
- 25 November - Pierre Bézier, engineer (b.1910).
- 27 November - Alain Peyrefitte, scholar and politician (b.1925).
December
- 6 December — Paul Bacon, politician (b.1907).
- 18 December — Robert Bresson, film director (b.1901).
- 23 December - Marcel Landowski, composer, biographer and arts administrator (b.1915).
- 24 December — Maurice Couve de Murville, politician and Prime Minister (b.1907).
- 28 December - Pierre Clémenti, actor (b.1942).
- 28 December - Louis Féraud, fashion designer and artist (b.1921).
Full date unknown
- Germaine Dieterlen, anthropologist (b.1903).
- Yann Goulet, sculptor, Breton nationalist and war-time collaborationist with Nazi Germany (b.1914).
- René Le Hir, Breton nationalist (b.1920).
- Laure Leprieur, radio personality (b.1919).
