This article lists events from the

year A year is a unit of time based on how long it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. In scientific use, the tropical year (approximately 365 Synodic day, solar days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds) and the sidereal year (about 20 minutes longer) ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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 ...

–

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

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 ...

–

François Fillon François Charles Amand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a French retired politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of The Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

Events

January

*24 January –

Klaus (storm) Cyclone Klaus was a European windstorm or cyclone that made landfall over large parts of central and southern France, Spain and parts of Italy in January 2009. The storm was the most damaging since Lothar and Martin in December 1999. The storm c ...

hit south-western France -

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

Poitou-Charentes Poitou-Charentes (; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ) was an administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It comprised four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne. It included the historical provinces of Angoumo ...

Midi-Pyrénées Midi-Pyrénées (; or ; ) is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania. It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark. ...

- and northern Spain, with wind speeds in excess of . 12 people have died because of this storm in the country (28 in Europe). *29 January – Strike action by French public sector workers causes major disruption to services.

February

* General strikes in

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

and

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. * At the beginning of February: A conflict ignites the French universities concerning the statute of the searchers-teachers. Many voices claim moreover the abrogation of law LRU on the autonomy of the universities. The second half of the universities' year is very disrupted.

March

* 20 March : Child abduction of 3-year-old Franco-Russian girl Elise, by her Russian mother in

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

( Bouches du Rhône). * 29 March : Referendum on the departmentalization of island of

Mayotte Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...

. The result is "Yes" with a crushing majority. Mayotte island will become the 101st French department.

April

* April : '' Do Not Look at the Sun'' literary magazine is launched. * 3 and 4 April : Summit of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

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 ...

. France joined the integrated command of NATO, a decision which is far from making unanimity in the French political community. During the summit, large incidents occur in certain districts of

. * 15 April : Coming into effect of the new plates of registrations on the new vehicles. New classification is allotted to life for each vehicle and comprises two letters, an indent, three digits, an indent and two letters. A number of department to the choice as well as the logo of the corresponding area is affixed on the line.

May

* 1 May : France's health minister confirms the first cases of

swine flu Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As ...

detected within the country.

June

* 1 June :

Air France Flight 447 Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, inconsistent airspeed indications and mi ...

, a scheduled flight from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

to Paris, crashes into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, killing all 228 people on board. * 9 June : European Election.

July

* 9 July : Youths protest in

Firminy Firminy (; ) is a commune in the Loire department in central France. It lies on the river Ondaine, 13 km southwest of Saint-Étienne by rail. History The ancient name of the town was ''Firminiaco'' or ''Firminiacus'' (lit. "place of Fir ...

near

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

, after an Algerian man, Mohamed Benmouna, dies in police custody. His parents reject the official verdict of suicide. * 14 July : Bastille Day riots take place in a suburb of Paris. In the commune of

Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis Montreuil (), also known unofficially as Montreuil-sous-Bois (), is a Communes of France, commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, in the Seine-Saint-Denis department and in the Mét ...

, an eastern suburb area of

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 ...

, youths set fire to 317 cars, and thirteen police officers are injured. * 26 July : The

2009 Tour de France The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco. The race visite ...

concludes in Paris.

Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice (2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the Vuelta ...

of Spain is the overall winner.

August

* 6 August: Marina Sabatier, an 8-year-old girl, was abused to death by her parents.

September

*27 September – The

2009 Jeux de la Francophonie 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

open in Beirut, Lebanon.

October

*27 October – The 2009 French Super Series badminton competition opens in

November

*9 November –

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

politician Jack Lang, appointed by President

as special envoy to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, travels to

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

for a "listening mission". 20 November –

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

makes its first commercial flight of the

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...

December

Births

* 6 April -

Valentina Tronel Valentina Tronel (born 6 April 2009), known mononymously as Valentina, is a French singer. She rose to prominence after she won Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020, becoming the first French entrant to win the contest. Previously, in 2016, she ...

, singer and winner of the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was the 18th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by Telewizja Polska (TVP) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The contest took place on 29 November 2020, and was held in Warsaw ...

* 7 March –

Prince Umberto of Savoy A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

* 19 November – Prince Gaston of Orléans (2009–)

Deaths

January

*1 : Laurence Pernoud, writer *6 : Jean-Pierre Bakrim, soccer player *7 : Roger Besse, politician *8 :

Gaston Lenôtre Gaston Lenôtre (, 28 May 1920 – 8 January 2009) was a French pastry chef. He is known as a possible creator of the opera cake (''gâteau opéra''), the founder of Lenôtre a culinary empire, whose brand includes restaurants, catering services, ...

, pastry chef *10 :

Georges Cravenne Georges Cravenne (24 January 1914 – 10 January 2009), real name Joseph-Raoul Cohen, was a French film producer, publicity agent and founder of the César Award. He received an Honorary César in 2000. Marriages He married French actress Fra ...

, producer, "César Award" creator *12 :

Claude Berri Claude Berri (; 1 July 1934 – 12 January 2009) was a French film director, writer, producer, actor and distributor. Early life Born Claude Beri Langmann in Paris, Berri was the son of Jewish immigrant parents. His mother, Beila (née Bercu), ...

, producer and filmmaker *14 : Nicolas Genka, writer *15 :

René Coll René (''Born again (Christianity), born again'' or ''reborn'' in French language, French) is a common given name, first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is th ...

, orchestra driver *22 : Marcel Schneider, writer *25 :

Gérard Blanc Gérard Blanc (8 December 1947 – 24 January 2009) was a French singer, guitarist and actor. Life and career He began to sing in the 1970s with the band Martin Circus. Then in the 1980s, he participated in the production of Princess Stephanie ...

, singer

February

*26 : Paul Germain, scientist

March

*2 :

Alexandre Léontieff Alexandre Léontieff (October 20, 1948 – March 2, 2009) was a French politician and the President of French Polynesia from 1987 to 1991. Biography Personal life Léontieff was born on October 20, 1948, at Teahupo'o, Tahiti, near the world fa ...

, French Polynesia president until 1991 *14 :

Alain Bashung Alain Bashung (born Alain Claude Baschung, ; 1 December 1947 – 14 March 2009) was a French singer, songwriter and actor. Credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil", he is often regarded as the most importan ...

, singer *29 :

Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations with film director David Lean composing all of ...

, composer

April

*14 :

Maurice Druon Maurice Druon (; 23 April 1918 – 14 April 2009) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Française, of which he served as "Perpetual Secretary" (chairman) between 1985 and 1999. Life and career Born in Paris, France, Druon was the ...

, writer

May

*20 : Lucy Gordon, British actress

June

*6 :

Jean Dausset Jean-Baptiste-Gabriel-Joachim Dausset (19 October 1916 – 6 June 2009) was a French immunologist born in Toulouse, France. Dausset received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1980 along with Baruj Benacerraf and George Davis Snell f ...

, immunologist *32:

Saïd Bouziri Saïd Bouziri (June 4, 1947, in Tunis – June 23, 2009, in Paris), accountant by profession, was a human rights activist who was involved in several struggles related to immigration. Biography The eldest of a family of merchants, Saïd Bouzir ...

, human rights and immigrant rights activist

July

*6 :

Mathieu Montcourt Mathieu Montcourt (; 4 March 1985 – 6 July 2009) was a professional French tennis player. At the 2006, 2007, and 2009 French Opens, he lost in the second round, to Lleyton Hewitt, Jarkko Nieminen, and Radek Štěpánek respectively. Career ...

, tennis player

August

*22 :

Adrien Zeller Adrien Zeller (2 April 1940 – 22 August 2009

, politician

September

*6 : Sim, actor, comedian, writer *12 :

Willy Ronis Willy Ronis (; 14 August 191012 September 2009) was a French photographer. His best-known work shows life in post-war Paris and Provence. Life and work Ronis was born in Paris to Jewish immigrants. His father, Emmanuel Ronis, was from Odessa, a ...

, photographer

October

*14 : Francis Muguet, scientist

November

*17 :

José Aboulker José Aboulker (5 March 1920 – 17 November 2009) was an Algerian Jew and the leader of the anti-Nazi resistance in French Algeria during World War II. He received the U.S. Medal of Freedom, the Croix de Guerre, and was made a Companion ...

, member of anti-Nazi resistance *19 : Daul Kim, South Korean model

References

Links

{{Year in Europe, 2009 2000s in France