Events from the year 1943 in France.

Incumbents

Chief of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and le ...

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...

* Vice-president of the Council of Ministers:

Pierre Laval Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. During the Third Republic, he served as Prime Minister of France from 27 January 1931 to 20 February 1932 and 7 June 1935 to 24 January 1936. He again occu ...

Events

*15 January – Fernand Grenier broadcasts on

Radio Londres ''Radio Londres'' (, French for "Radio London") was a radio station broadcast from 1940 to 1944 by the BBC in London to German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi-occupied France. It was entirely in French Language, French and was o ...

offering Communist support for

Free France Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

. *22 January –

Round up of Marseille The Marseille roundup was the systematic deportation of the Jews of Marseille in the Old Port between 22 and 24 January 1943 under the Vichy regime during the German occupation of France. Assisted by the French police, directed by René Bousquet, ...

, organized by Nazi Germany, begins:

French police Law enforcement in France has a long history dating back to AD 570 when night watch systems were commonplace.Dammer, H. R. and Albanese, J. S. (2014). ''Comparative Criminal Justice Systems'' (5th ed.). Wadesworth Cengage learning: Belmont, ...

carry out a raid in the Old Port to arrest

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. *24 January – Round up of Marseille ends with 30,000 people expelled from their neighborhood and 2,000 Jews eventually sent to the

extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...

s. *9 February – Rue Sainte-Catherine Roundup: The

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

, directed by

Klaus Barbie Nikolaus "Klaus" Barbie (25 October 1913 – 25 September 1991) was a German operative of the SS and SD who worked in Vichy France during World War II. He became known as the "Butcher of Lyon" for having personally tortured prisoners—primari ...

, arrest 86 Jews in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. *21 May –

Riom Trial The Riom Trial (french: Procès de Riom; 19 February 1942 – 21 May 1943) was an attempt by the Vichy France regime, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, to prove that the leaders of the French Third Republic (1870–1940) had been responsible for ...

ends, attempt by

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

regime to prove that the leaders of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

had been responsible for France's defeat by Germany in 1940. *21 June – Resistance leaders

Jean Moulin Jean Pierre Moulin (; 20 June 1899 – 8 July 1943) was a French civil servant and resistant who served as the first President of the National Council of the Resistance during World War II from 27 May 1943 until his death less than two months l ...

Henri Aubry Henri Aubry ("Avricourt", "Thomas") (3 March 1914 – 10 November 1970) was a member of the French Resistance during World War II and a leader of the Combat group. Biography Born in Longwy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Aubry was an Alumnus of the École ...

(alias Avricourt and Thomas),

Raymond Aubrac Raymond Aubrac (31 July 1914 – 10 April 2012) was a leader of the French Resistance during the Second World War and a civil engineer after the Second World War. Early life Aubrac was born Raymond Samuel into a middle-class Jewish family in Ves ...

, Bruno Larat (alias Xavier-Laurent Parisot),

André Lassagne André Lassagne (23 April 1911 – 3 April 1953) was a member of the French Resistance during World War II. The secretary general of "L'Armée Secrète" (AS), he was arrested (along with Jean Moulin) on June 21, 1943, in Caluire-et-Cuire (Rhône). ...

(alias Lombard), Colonel Albert Lacaze, Colonel Émile Schwarzfeld (alias Blumstein),

René Hardy René Hardy (31 October 1911 – 12 April 1987) was a member of the French Resistance during World War II. Hardy was born in Mortrée, Orne. In spite of having rendered dedicated and valuable service as a member of the resistance group, Combat (F ...

(alias Didot) and Dr Frédéric Dugoujon are arrested at a meeting in Dugoujon's house in

Caluire-et-Cuire Caluire-et-Cuire (; frp, Caluéres-et-Cuéres) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is the fifth-largest suburb of the city of Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' als ...

, a suburb of

, and sent to Montluc Prison in Lyon. *21 October –

Lucie Aubrac Lucie Samuel (29 June 1912 – 14 March 2007), born Lucie Bernard, and better known as Lucie Aubrac (), was a French history teacher and member of the French Resistance during World War II. In 1938, she earned an agrégation of history (somethi ...

and others in her Resistance cell liberate

from

imprisonment. *22 November –

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

gains independence from France.

Sport

*25 April – The 41st edition of the Paris-Roubaix bicycle race resumes following three years of cancellations due to war. Marcel Kint (BEL) wins the race in 6h 01' 32".

Births

*11 February –

Pierre Matignon Pierre Matignon (born Verchers-sur-Layon, France, 11 February 1943 — died Saint-Michel-de-Chavaignes, 1 November 1987) was the French racing cyclist who held last place in the Tour de France but won one of its most prestigious stages alone. Ba ...

, cyclist (died 1987) *20 February – Carlos, né Yvan-Chrysostome Dolto, singer, entertainer and actor (died 2008) *23 April –

Hervé Villechaize Hervé Jean-Pierre Villechaize (; April 23, 1943 – September 4, 1993) was a French actor and painter. He is best known for his role as the evil henchman Nick Nack in the 1974 James Bond film '' The Man with the Golden Gun'', and his role as Mr ...

, actor (died 1993 in the United States) *22 May –

Marie-Françoise Audollent Marie-Françoise Audollent (22 May 1943 – 30 March 2008) was a French actress. She was known for her role in ''The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown's second novel to include t ...

, actress (died 2008) *6 June –

Jean-Michel Bertrand Jean-Michel Bertrand (6 June 1943 at Baccarat, Meurthe-et-Moselle – 19 February 2008 at the Hôpital Saint-Louis in Paris) was a French politician of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). Biography A pharmacist by occupation, Jean-Michel B ...

, politician (died 2008) *15 June –

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France. During a career spanning 57 ...

, né Jean-Philippe Smet, pop singer and actor (died 2017) *23 June –

Patrick Bokanowski Patrick Bokanowski (born 23 June 1943 in Algiers, French Algeria) is a French filmmaker who makes experimental and animated films. Career The film '' The Angel'' (1982) is his most prominent work. It is accompanied by a soundtrack made by his wi ...

, filmmaker *5 July –

Pierre Villepreux Pierre Villepreux (born 5 July 1943) is a former France, French rugby union player and coach. He played at full back and fly half for Stade Toulousain, Toulouse, and won 34 caps for France national rugby union team, France between 1967 and 1972. V ...

, rugby player and coach *30 August –

Jean-Claude Killy Jean-Claude Killy (born 30 August 1943) is a French former World Cup alpine ski racer. He dominated the sport in the late 1960s, and was a triple Olympic champion, winning the three alpine events at the 1968 Winter Olympics, becoming the most su ...

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

and a triple

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

champion *5 November –

Alain Fournier Alain Fournier (1943–2000) was a computer graphics researcher. Biography Alain Fournier was born on November 5, 1943, in Lyon, France. He was married twice, first to Beverly Bickle (married 1968, divorced 1984) and later to Adrienne Drobnies ...

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...

researcher (died 2000) *5 December –

Eva Joly Eva Joly (; born Gro Eva Farseth; 5 December 1943) is a Norwegian-born French ''juge d'instruction'' (magistrate) and politician for Europe Écologie–The Greens. She represented that party as a candidate for the presidency of France in the 2012 ...

, magistrate, born in Norway *Full date unknown **

Jacques-Pierre Amette Jacques-Pierre Amette (born 1943 in Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives, Calvados, German-occupied France) is a French writer. In 2003 his novel '' Brecht's Mistress'' (French: ''La Maîtresse de Brecht'') won the Prix Goncourt. He has been a correspondent ...

, journalist and writer ** Olivier Mitterrand, French CEO

Deaths

*8 July –

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

and Resistance leader, died in custody (born 1899) *18 August –

Maurice Couette Maurice Marie Alfred Couette (9 January 1858, Tours – 18 August 1943, Angers) was a French physicist known for his studies of fluidity. Couette is best known for his contributions to rheology and the theory of fluid flow. He designed a concent ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

(born 1858) *24 August –

Simone Weil Simone Adolphine Weil ( , ; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. Over 2,500 scholarly works have been published about her, including close analyses and readings of her work, since 1995. ...

, philosopher and social activist (born 1909) *19 October –

Camille Claudel Camille Rosalie Claudel (; 8 December 1864 19 October 1943) was a French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The ...

, sculptor and graphic artist (born 1864) *10 December –

Jean-Baptiste Bienvenu-Martin Jean-Baptiste Bienvenu Martin (22 July 1847 – 10 December 1943) was a French Radical leader and cabinet officer. He was born at Saint-Bris-le-Vineux (Yonne), and was educated in the law. Career He held an under prefecture, entered the Co ...

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

leader and Minister (born 1847) *Full date unknown **

André Antoine André Antoine (31 January 185823 October 1943) was a French actor, theatre manager, film director, author, and critic who is considered the father of modern mise en scène in France. Biography André Antoine was a clerk at the Paris Gas Utilit ...

, actor-manager (born 1858) **

Henriette Caillaux Henriette Caillaux (5 December 1874 – 29 January 1943) was a Parisian socialite and second wife of the former Prime Minister of France, Joseph Caillaux. On March 16, 1914, she shot and killed Gaston Calmette, editor of the newspaper ''Le Figaro ...

, socialite and assassin (born 1874)

References