Events from the year 1954 in France.

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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Vincent Auriol Vincent Jules Auriol (; 27 August 1884 – 1 January 1966) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1947 to 1954. Early life and politics Auriol was born in Revel, Haute-Garonne, as the only child of Jacques Antoine Aurio ...

(until 16 January), Rene Coty (starting 16 January) *

President of the Council of Ministers The President of the Council of Ministers (sometimes titled Chairman of the Council of Ministers) is the most senior member of the cabinet in the executive branch of government in some countries. Some Presidents of the Council of Ministers are th ...

Joseph Laniel Joseph Laniel (; 12 October 18898 April 1975) was a French conservative politician of the Fourth Republic, who served as Prime Minister for a year from 1953 to 1954. During the middle of his tenure as Prime Minister Laniel was an unsuccessful ...

(until 19 June),

Pierre Mendès France Pierre Isaac Isidore Mendès France (; 11 January 190718 October 1982) was a French politician who served as prime minister of France for eight months from 1954 to 1955. As a member of the Radical Party, he headed a government supported by a co ...

(starting 19 June)

Events

*25 January – The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

meet at the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence ...

. *13 March –

Battle of Dien Bien Phu The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (french: Bataille de Diên Biên Phu ; vi, Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ, ) was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the Fr ...

begins in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. *23 March – In Vietnam, the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...

capture the main airstrip of Dien Bien Phu – French forces are partially isolated. *29 March –

C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

with French nurse

Genevieve de Galard Genevieve (french: link=no, Sainte Geneviève; la, Sancta Genovefa, Genoveva; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) is the patroness saint of Paris in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Her feast is on 3 January. Genevieve was born in Nanterre an ...

on board is incapacitated on Dien Bien Phu runway. *7 May – Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in defeat for French forces. *18 June –

becomes prime minister of France. *24 June –

Battle of Mang Yang Pass The Battle of Mang Yang Pass (also known as the Battle of An Khê or the Battle of Đắk Pơ) was one of the last battles of the First Indochina War which took place on 24 June 1954. The battle was one of the bloodiest defeats of the French Unio ...

begins, the last official battle of the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

. *17 July – Battle of Mang Yang Pass ends in defeat for French forces. *20 July – Battlefield ceasefire announced. *21 July – The Geneva Conference partitions

into

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

and

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

. *1 August – Armistice effected, sealing French defeat. *31 October – The

Algerian National Liberation Front The National Liberation Front ( ar, جبهة التحرير الوطني ''Jabhatu l-Taḥrīri l-Waṭanī''; french: Front de libération nationale, FLN) is a Algerian nationalism, nationalist political party in Algeria. It was the principal n ...

begins a revolt against French rule. *1 November – The FLN attacks Representative and public buildings of the France colonial power.

Sport

*8 July –

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

begins. *1 August – Tour de France ends, won by

Louison Bobet Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 - 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to ...

Births

*13 February –

Dominique Bathenay Dominique Bathenay (born 13 February 1954) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and coach. Career Bathenay played for AS Saint-Étienne from 1973 to 1978, and for Paris Saint-Germain from 1978 to 1985. He was a ...

, international soccer player *4 March –

François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French 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 ...

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister ...

*1 May –

Fred Chichin Frédéric "Fred" Chichin (; 1 May 1954 – 28 November 2007) was a French musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was part of the pop-rock duo Les Rita Mitsouko, along with Catherine Ringer, whom he met in 1979. Prior to his w ...

, musician and songwriter (died 2007) *27 July –

Philippe Alliot Philippe Alliot (born 27 July 1954) is a former racing driver who participated in Formula One from to and from to . He raced for RAM, Ligier, Larrousse and McLaren. Early career Prior to his career in Formula One he competed during 1976 and 19 ...

, former motor racing driver *9 August –

Loïc Amisse Loïc Amisse (born 9 August 1954) is a French football manager and former professional player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete ...

, soccer player and manager *12 August –

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

, 23rd French President *21 August –

Humbert Balsan Humbert Jean René Balsan (21 August 1954 – 10 February 2005) was a French film producer and chairman of the European Film Academy. He was known for securing financing and distribution for diverse and often challenging films. In February 2005 ...

, film producer (died 2005) *17 September –

Joël-François Durand Joël-François Durand (born 17 September 1954) is a French composer. Biography Born in Orléans, Durand studied mathematics, music education and piano in Paris, then composition with Brian Ferneyhough in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany (1981–8 ...

, composer *8 October –

Frédéric Antonetti Frédéric Antonetti (born 19 August 1961) is a French professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of French club Metz. He previously managed Bastia, Gamba Osaka, Saint-Étienne, Nice, Rennes and Lille. Earl ...

, soccer player and manager *18 October – Edouard Stern, banker (died 2005)

Deaths

*10 April – Auge Lumière, filmmaker (born 1862) *28 April –

Léon Jouhaux Léon Jouhaux (1 July 1879 – 28 April 1954) was a French trade union leader who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1951. Biography Jouhaux was born in Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. Jouhaux's father worked in a match factory in Aubervillier ...

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leader who received the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

in 1951 (born 1879) *3 August –

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

, writer (born 1873) *3 November –

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

, artist (born 1869) *8 December –

Claude Cahun Claude Cahun (, born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob; 25 October 1894 – 8 December 1954) was a French surrealist photographer, sculptor, and writer. Schwob adopted the pseudonym Claude Cahun in 1914. Cahun is best known as a writer and self-portr ...

, photographer and writer (born 1894) *23 December –

René Iché René Iché (21 January 1897 – 23 December 1954) was a 20th-century French sculptor. Life and work René Iché was born in Sallèles-d'Aude, France. He fought in World War I, where he was injured and gassed. After the war, he earned a degre ...

, sculptor (born 1897)

References