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