Events from the year

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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 ...

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

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 ...

Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and th ...

(until 7 May),

Jean-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005 under President Jacques Chirac. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Un ...

(starting 7 May)

Events

*1 January – The Euro Currency officially became the legal tender for

, along with the other European Union (EU) Eurozone member area countries, replacing the

French franc The franc (; , ; currency sign, sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amoun ...

by being introduced physically with the official launch of the currency coins and banknotes. *6 March – France agrees to return the remains of

Saartjie Baartman Sarah Baartman (; 1789 – 29 December 1815), also spelled Sara, sometimes in the diminutive form Saartje (), or Saartjie, and Bartman, Bartmann, was a Khoekhoe woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under ...

to South Africa. *21 April – first round of the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

and

Jean-Marie le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...

poll the most votes. Two weeks of demonstrations against the National Front follow. *5 May – second round of the presidential election.

returns for a second term as

President of the French Republic The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the pos ...

. *6 May – nomination of

for the post of

. *9 June – first round of the

legislative elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

*16 June – second round of legislative elections. *14 July – During

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...

celebrations,

escapes an assassination attempt unscathed. *November –

Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...

launches a revised model of its popular Berlingo leisure activity vehicle. *November –

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

launches the second generation of Mégane hatchback range of hatchbacks, estates, convertibles and saloons. *December – The Renault Megane II is voted

European Car of the Year The European Car of the Year award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964 by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising media of the award are '' Auto'' (Italy), '' Aut ...

. *Date unknown: **'' Danyel Waro, fyer bâtard'' documentary film is released. ** Trident Media Guard company is founded.

Arts and literature

Sport

*6 July –

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. *21 July –

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

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...

of Germany. *28 July – Tour de France ends, won by

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...

of the United States.

Births

* 22 July – Jules Bouyer, French diver * 10 November – Eduardo Camavinga, French footballer

Deaths

January to March

*11 January –

Henri Verneuil Henri Verneuil (; born Ashot Malakian; 15 October 1920 – 11 January 2002) was a French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who made a successful career in France. He was nominated for Oscar and Palme d'Or awards, and won Locarno International F ...

, playwright and filmmaker (born 1920). *13 January – Pierre Joubert,

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

(born 1910). *23 January **

Pierre Bourdieu Pierre Bourdieu (, ; ; ; 1 August 1930 – 23 January 2002) was a French sociologist and public intellectual. Bourdieu's contributions to the sociology of education, the theory of sociology, and sociology of aesthetics have achieved wide influ ...

, sociologist (born 1930). ** Maurice Limat, science fiction author (born 1914). *13 February – Pauline Trigère, fashion designer (born 1908). *14 February –

Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz (25 October 1920 – 14 February 2002) was a member of the French Resistance in World War II, during which she was sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp. After the war, she was a human rights defender and presiden ...

, member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

and president of ATD Quart Monde (born 1920). *21 February – Georges Vedel,

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

professor (born 1910). *8 March – Robert Dun, writer and SS officer (born 1920). *12 March – Louis-Marie Billé, cardinal (born 1938). *22 March –

Marcel Hansenne Marcel Hansenne (January 24, 1917 – March 22, 2002) was a French middle distance runner, who won the bronze medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London over 800 m in a time of 1:49.8 min. The race was won by Mal Whitfield. Hansenne a ...

, middle-distance runner (born 1917).

April to June

*19 April – Jean-Pierre Destrumelle, soccer player and manager (born 1941). *22 May –

Niki de Saint Phalle Niki de Saint Phalle (; born Catherine Marie-Agnès Fal de Saint Phalle; 29 October 193021 May 2002) was a French sculptor, painter, filmmaker, and author of colorful hand-illustrated books. Widely noted as one of the few female monumental sculp ...

, sculptor, painter and filmmaker (born 1930). *25 May –

Michel Jobert Michel Jobert (; 11 September 1921 – 25 May 2002) was a French politician of the left-wing Gaullism, Gaullist orientation. He served as Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France), Minister of Foreign Affairs under Georges Pompidou, and ...

, politician (born 1921). *29 May –

François Ovide François Ovide (born in Rouen, October 1952; died in Rouen, 29 May 2002) was a French guitarist, best known for his longstanding collaborations with Albert Marcoeur and with John Greaves (musician), John Greaves. Ovide grew up around Rouen. His f ...

, guitarist (born 1952). *6 June – Bernard Destremau, tennis player (born 1917). *12 June – Jean de Beaumont,

sport shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...

(born 1904). *29 June – François Périer, actor (born 1919). *30 June **

Claude Berge Claude Jacques Berge (5 June 1926 – 30 June 2002) was a French mathematician, recognized as one of the modern founders of combinatorics and graph theory. Biography and professional history Claude Berge's parents were André Berge and Genevièv ...

, mathematician (born 1926). ** Roger Lévêque, cyclist (born 1920).

July to September

*2 July – Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur, organist and composer (born 1908). *3 July –

Michel Henry Michel Henry (; ; 10 January 1922 – 3 July 2002) was a French philosopher, phenomenologist and novelist. He wrote four novels and numerous philosophical works. He also lectured at universities in France, Belgium, the United States, and Jap ...

, philosopher and novelist (born 1922). *31 July – Claude Rifat,

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

psychonaut Psychonautics (from the Ancient Greek ' 'soul, spirit, mind' and ' 'sailor, navigator') refers both to a methodology for describing and explaining the subjective effects of altered states of consciousness, including those induced by meditati ...

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

, writer and researcher. *2 August – Jean-Pierre Yvaral, artist (born 1934). *6 August – Jean Sauvagnargues, politician and Minister (born 1915). *8 September –

Henri Rol-Tanguy Henri Rol-Tanguy (; 12 June 1908 – 8 September 2002) was a French Communism, communist and leader in the French Resistance, Resistance against Nazi Germany in World War II. At his death ''The New York Times'' called him "one of France's mo ...

, communist and leader in the

(born 1908).

October to December

*12 October – Audrey Mestre,

free-diver Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving, is a mode of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba gear. Besides the limits of breat ...

(born 1974). *25 October –

René Thom René Frédéric Thom (; 2 September 1923 – 25 October 2002) was a French mathematician, who received the Fields Medal in 1958. He made his reputation as a topologist, moving on to aspects of what would be called singularity theory; he became ...

, mathematician (born 1923). *26 October –

Jacques Massu Jacques Émile Massu (; 5 May 1908 – 26 October 2002) was a French general who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War, the Algerian War and the Suez Crisis. He led French troops in the Battle of Algiers, first supporting and later ...

, General (born 1908). *31 October ** Lionel Poilâne, ''boulanger'' and entrepreneur (born c1945). ** Raymond Savignac,

graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming l ...

(born 1907). *10 November –

Michel Boisrond Michel Jacques Boisrond (9 October 1921 – 10 November 2002) was a French film director and screenwriter. His work spanned five decades, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Career A former apprentice of Jean Delannoy, Jean Cocteau, and René Clair ...

, film director and writer (born 1921). *23 November – Maritie Carpentier, television producer (born 1922). *29 November –

Daniel Gélin Daniel Yves Alfred Gélin (19 May 1921 – 29 November 2002) was a French film and television actor. Early life Gélin was born in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, the son of Yvonne (née Le Méner) and Alfred Ernest Joseph Gélin. When he was ten, ...

, actor, director and screenwriter (born 1921).

Full date unknown

* Jacques Poirier, painter (born 1928).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2002 in France 2000s in France