Events from the year 1961 in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Incumbents

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Michel Debré Michel Jean-Pierre Debré (; 15 January 1912 – 2 August 1996) was the first Prime Minister of the French Fifth Republic. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France. He served under President Charles de Gaulle from 1959 ...

Events

*8 January – French referendum on Algerian self-determination is approved by three-quarters of voters. *18 March – A

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

takes effect in the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

. *21 April-26 April –

Algiers putsch The Algiers putsch (; or ), also known as the putsch of the generals (), was a failed coup d'état intended to force French President Charles de Gaulle not to abandon French Algeria, the resident European community and pro-French Algerians. Orga ...

, failed

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

attempt organized by four retired

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

generals. *31 May **Rebel generals Maurice Challe and Andre Zelelr are sentenced to 15 years in prison. **President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and

Charles De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

meet in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. *17 June – A

-to-

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

train derails near

Vitry-le-François Vitry-le-François () is a Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department in northeastern France. It is located on the river Marne (river), Marne and is the western terminus of the Marne–Rhine Ca ...

; 24 are killed, 109 injured. *29 August – A military aircraft clips a cable of the

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...

connecting

Pointe Helbronner Pointe Helbronner () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the Graian Alps on the watershed between France and Italy. The peak, which used to be a mere geodetic reference point, was named after Paul Helbronner, a French '' polytechnicien'' ...

and the

Aiguille du Midi The Aiguille du Midi (, "Needle at midday") is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc. Ca ...

in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

. Three cars of the tramway fall, killing five people, but the remaining 63 cable car passengers are rescued and the pilot lands his plane safely. *21 September **

Organisation armée secrète The ''Organisation armée secrète'' (OAS, "Secret Army Organisation") was a far-right dissident French paramilitary and terrorist organisation during the Algerian War, founded in 1961 by Raoul Salan, Pierre Lagaillarde and Jean-Jacques S ...

(OAS) slips an anti-

de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

message into TV programming. **Fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent is launched by Yves Saint Laurent and

Pierre Bergé Pierre Vital Georges Bergé (; 14 November 1930 – 8 September 2017) was a French industrialist and patron. He co-founded the fashion label Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), and was a longtime business partner—and onetime significant other—of its ...

in Paris. *October – The

Renault 4 The Renault 4, or R4 in short (and 4L, pronounced "Quatrelle" in French ), is an economy car built by the French company Renault from 1961 to 1994. Although the Renault 4 was first marketed as a short estate or wagon, its minimal rear o ...

, a small estate car similar in concept to the Citroen 2CV saloon, is launched at the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

. *10 October –

Simca Simca (; Mechanical and Automotive Body Manufacturing Company) was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat S.p.A. and directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by Italy, Italian Henri Pigozzi. Simca was affiliated with Fiat and, after Simc ...

launches the

Simca 1000 The Simca 1000, or Simca Mille in France, French, is a small, boxy Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, rear-engined four-door saloon car, saloon, manufactured for 18 years by French automaker Simca, from 1961 to 1978. Origins The origins of the ...

, a small rear-engined four-door family saloon. *17 October – Paris massacre, French police attack an unarmed and peaceful demonstration of some 30,000

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

ns. Government acknowledges 40 deaths in 1998, although there are estimates of up to 200. *14 November – The Yves Saint Laurent luxury fashion brand is founded in Rue La Boetie, Paris, by Yves Saint Laurent and

Arts and literature

*4 May – Phenomenological philosopher

Maurice Merleau-Ponty Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty. ( ; ; 14 March 1908 – 3 May 1961) was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. The constitution of meaning in human experience was his main interes ...

dies, age 53, of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, apparently while preparing for a class on Descartes.

Sport

*18 June –

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championship. It is one of the oldest ...

won by

Giancarlo Baghetti Giancarlo Baghetti (; 25 December 1934 – 27 November 1995) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Baghetti won the 1961 French Grand Prix in a privateer Ferrari 156, and remains the only driver to win a Formula ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. *25 June –

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

begins. *19 July – Tour de France ends, won by

Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the ye ...

Births

*2 April –

François Gernigon François Gernigon (born 2 April 1961) is a French politician. As a member of Horizons (political party), Horizons, he was elected Deputy (France), member of parliament for Maine-et-Loire's 1st constituency in the 2022 French legislative electio ...

, politician *15 April –

José Anigo José Anigo (born 15 April 1961) is a French professional football manager and former player. Career Anigo was born in Marseille, and after a tough childhood went on to play for his home town club for eight years where he established a reputatio ...

, soccer player and sporting director *16 May –

Solveig Dommartin Solveig Dommartin (; 16 May 1961 – 11 January 2007) was a French actress. Her acting career began in the theatre with Compagnie Timothee Laine and with the Theater Labor Warschau. She had her first experiences with film as an assistant of Jac ...

, actress (died 2007) *21 September – Philippe Anziani, soccer player and coach *29 September – Jean-Marie Neff, racewalker *9 October –

Martial Fesselier Martial Fesselier (born 9 October 1961 in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine) is a retired male race walker from France, who competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Ol ...

, racewalker *25 December –

Ghislaine Maxwell Ghislaine Noelle Marion Maxwell ( ; born 25 December 1961) is a British-French-American former socialite and convicted sex offender. She was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with the deceased financier and ...

, British socialiteTwitter Icon
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Deaths

*3 May –

, phenomenological

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

(born 1908) *29 June –

Georges Guillain Georges Charles Guillain () (3 March 1876 – 29 June 1961) was a French neurologist born in Rouen. He studied medicine in Rouen and Paris, where he learned clinical education at several hospitals. He developed an interest in neurology, and his f ...

, neurologist (born 1876) *1 July –

Louis-Ferdinand Céline Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (27 May 1894 – 1 July 1961), better known by the pen name Louis-Ferdinand Céline ( ; ), was a French novelist, polemicist, and physician. His first novel '' Journey to the End of the Night'' (1932) won the ' ...

, writer (born 1894)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1961 in France 1960s in France