1951 in France

Events from the year 1951 in France.

← 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1951 in France → 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	Other events of 1951 History of France  • Timeline  • Years

Incumbents

• President: Vincent Auriol
• President of the Council of Ministers:
  • until 10 March: René Pleven
  • 10 March-11 August: Henri Queuille
  • starting 11 August: René Pleven

Events

• 13 January – Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins in Vietnam.
• 17 January – Battle of Vĩnh Yên ends in decisive defeat for the Việt Minh forces.
• 23 March – Battle of Mạo Khê begins.
• 28 March – Battle of Mạo Khê ends in the defeat of Việt Minh forces.
• April – Magazine Cahiers du cinéma is first published.
• 18 April – Treaty of Paris adopted, establishing European Coal and Steel Community.
• 17 June – Legislative Election is held to elect the second National Assembly of the Fourth Republic.
• 11 August – René Pleven becomes Prime Minister of France.
• 10 November – Battle of Hòa Bình begins.
• December – Engagements in the Battle of Hòa Bình continue.

Sport

• The 1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand is conducted.
• 4 July – Tour de France begins.
• 29 July – Tour de France ends, won by Hugo Koblet of Switzerland.

Births

• 10 January – Nicolas Philibert, film director and actor
• 13 January – Bernard Loiseau, chef (died 2003)
• 6 February – Jacques Villeret, actor (died 2005)
• 11 October – Jean-Jacques Goldman, singer and songwriter
• 6 November – Alain Etchegoyen, philosopher and novelist (died 2007)

Deaths

• 7 January
  • René Guénon, orientalist and philosopher (born 1886)
  • Lucien Cuénot, biologist (born 1866)
• 26 January – Henri Bard, international soccer player (born 1892)
• 19 February – André Gide, author and winner of Nobel Prize in literature in 1947 (born 1869)
• 2 June – Émile Chartier, philosopher, journalist and pacifist (born 1868)
• 21 June – Gustave Sandras, artistic gymnast (born 1872)
• 23 July – Philippe Pétain, Marshal of France, later Chief of State of Vichy France (born 1856)
• 11 November – César Vezzani, opera singer (born 1888)

See also

• List of French films of 1951