Events from the year 1949 in France.

Incumbents

* President: Vincent Auriol * President of the Council of Ministers:

Henri Queuille Henri Queuille (; 31 March 1884 – 15 June 1970) was a French Radical politician prominent in the Third and Fourth Republics. After World War II, he served three times as Prime Minister. Governments First ministry (11 September 1948 – 28 O ...

(until 28 October),

Georges Bidault Georges-Augustin Bidault (; 5 October 189927 January 1983) was a French politician. During World War II, he was active in the French Resistance. After the war, he served as foreign minister and prime minister on several occasions. He joined the ...

(starting 28 October)

Events

*19–25 August –

1949 Landes forest fire __NOTOC__ A major wildfire occurred from 19 August 1949 to 25 August 1949 in the Landes forest in France. of forest land were burnt - and 82 people killed. It was considered the most deadly forest fire in Europe until the 2007 Greek forest fires, ...

: a wildfire burns 50.000 ha of forest land and kills 82. *27 October – Air France Flight 009 flying from Paris Orly Airport to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

crashes on São Miguel Island in the Azores and kills all 48 on board, including violinist Ginette Neveu and boxer Marcel Cerdan. *

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

publishes her book '' The Second Sex'' (''Le Deuxième Sexe''), an extremely influential work for second-wave feminism, in Paris.

Sports

*30 June – Tour de France begins. *21 July – Tour de France ends, won by Fausto Coppi of Italy

Births

*11 January –

Jean-Paul Enthoven Jean-Paul Enthoven (born 11 January 1949) is a French publisher and journalist.''Who's Who in France'', 2008 edition, . Biography Early life and education Born in Mascara near Oran in French Algeria, Enthoven comes from a bourgeois Jewish fa ...

, philosopher and publisher *18 January – Philippe Starck, designer *6 February – Olivier Chevallier, motor cycle racer (died 1980) *10 February – Maxime Le Forestier, singer *2 March –

Isabelle Mir Isabelle Mir (born 2 March 1949) is a French former Alpine skier. At the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble Mir was silver medalist in the downhill. She received a silver medal at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1970. World cup Se won t ...

, Alpine skier *22 March – Fanny Ardant, actress *1 April – Gérard Mestrallet, businessman *16 April –

Claude Papi Claude Papi (16 April 1949 – 28 January 1983) was a French football midfielder who is regarded as the all-time best player for the SC Bastia. Playing career Born in Porto-Vecchio, Corsica, Papi played his entire career for SC Bastia. He ...

, soccer player (died 1983) *24 April – Véronique Sanson, singer-songwriter *27 April – Didier Daeninckx, author and politician *16 May –

Gilles Bertould Gilles Bertould (born 16 May 1949) is a former French athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. He competed for France in the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany in the 4 x 400 metre relay where he won the bronze medal with h ...

, athlete *13 June –

Thierry Sabine Thierry Sabine (13 June 1949, Neuilly-sur-Seine – 14 January 1986, Mali) was a French wrangler, motorcycle racer and founder and main organizer of the Dakar Rally. Career In 1977 he got lost on the Tchigai Plateau, near the isolated mountain of ...

, motor cycle racer (died 1986) *17 June – Serge Vinçon, politician (died 2007) *25 June –

Patrick Tambay Patrick Daniel Tambay (25 June 1949 – 4 December 2022) was a French racing driver, commentator, and politician, who competed in 123 Formula One races between 1977 and 1986, securing five pole positions and winning twice. Between 1977 and 198 ...

, racing driver (died 2022) *29 June –

Henri Proglio Henri Proglio (born 29 June 1949) is a French businessman, the former Chairman of the Board and CEO of Electricité de France and former CEO of Veolia Environnement. Life and career Of Italian origin, Henri Proglio was born in Antibes. He is a ...

, businessman *2 July –

Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu (2 July 1949 – 27 December 2010) was a French actor. Biography Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu studied theater and film at the Sorbonne Paris III and began his career in film at the age of 25 by making appearances with accl ...

, actor (died 2010) *13 August –

Philippe Petit Philippe Petit (; born 13 August 1949) is a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his unauthorized high-wire walks between the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1971 and of Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1973, as well as between the Twi ...

, high-wire artist *22 October –

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (; born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Developme ...

, soccer manager *25 October –

Alain Escoffier This is a list of notable people who committed suicide by setting themselves on fire for political reasons. Non-political self-immolations are not included in the list. List Before 1900 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s ...

, anti-communist activist, self-immolated (died 1977) *13 November –

Gérard Lelièvre Gérard Lelièvre (born 13 November 1949 in Laval, Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the ...

, racewalker *Full date unknown –

Jean-Claude Irvoas The 2005 French riots (french: Émeutes de 2005 dans les Banlieues Françaises), was a three-week period of riots in the suburbs of Paris and other French cities, in October and November 2005. These riots involved youth in violent attacks, and t ...

, murder victim (died 2005)

Deaths

*28 January – Jean-Pierre Wimille, motor racing driver and resistance member (born 1908) *16 February – Roger François, weightlifter (born 1900) *4 June – Maurice Blondel, philosopher (born 1861) *24 September – Pierre de Bréville, composer (born 1861) *27 October – Marcel Cerdan, boxer (born 1916) *27 October – Ginette Neveu, violinist (born 1919)

References