Events from the year 1940 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 l ...

Albert Lebrun Albert François Lebrun (; 29 August 1871 – 6 March 1950) was a French politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940. He was the last president of the Third Republic. He was a member of the centre-right Democratic Republican Alliance (A ...

(until 11 July),

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 Worl ...

(starting 11 July) * Vice-president of the Council of Ministers: ** until 21 March:

Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, and the Prime Minister of France who signed the Munich Agreement before the outbreak of World War II. Daladier was born in Carpe ...

** 21 March-16 June:

Paul Reynaud Paul Reynaud (; 15 October 1878 – 21 September 1966) was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. Reynaud opposed the Munich Agreement of ...

** 16 June-11 July:

** 11 July-13 December:

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 occ ...

** starting 13 December:

Pierre-Étienne Flandin Pierre-Étienne Flandin (; 12 April 1889 – 13 June 1958) was a French conservative politician of the Third Republic, leader of the Democratic Republican Alliance (ARD), and Prime Minister of France from 8 November 1934 to 31 May 1935. A milit ...

Events

*21 March –

resigns as Prime Minister. French cabinet shuffles and Daladier is replaced by

. *10 May – Battle of France begins. German forces invade

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. *13 May – German armies open 60-mile wide breach in Maginot Line at Sedan. *18 May – Marshal

named vice-premier of France. *19 May – General

Maxime Weygand Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II. Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educated at the Saint-Cyr military academy in Paris. After graduating in 1 ...

replaces Maurice Gamelin as commander-in-chief of all French forces. *20 May – German forces, under General Erwin Rommel, reach the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. *26 May – Dunkirk evacuation of British Expeditionary Force starts. *3 June – Paris is bombed by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

for the first time. *4 June – Dunkirk evacuation ends – British forces complete evacuating 300,000 troops. *10 June **French government flees to

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

. **Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom. *12 June – 13,000 British and French troops surrender to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at St. Valery-en-Caux. *13 June – Paris is declared an

open city In war, an open city is a settlement which has announced it has abandoned all defensive efforts, generally in the event of the imminent capture of the city to avoid destruction. Once a city has declared itself open the opposing military will be ...

. *14 June **Paris falls under German occupation and German troops march past the Arc de Triomphe, following exactly the same route that the victorious French troops coming home from the First World War, 22 years previously. **French government flees to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

. *15 June –

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

falls to German forces. *16 June – The

Churchill war ministry The Churchill war ministry was the United Kingdom's coalition government for most of the Second World War from 10 May 1940 to 23 May 1945. It was led by Winston Churchill, who was appointed Prime Minister by King George VI following the resigna ...

in the United Kingdom offers a

Franco-British Union A Franco-British Union is a concept for a union between the two independent sovereign states of the United Kingdom and France. Such a union was proposed during certain crises of the 20th century; it has some historical precedents. Historical uni ...

(inspired by Jean Monnet) to

, Prime Minister of France, in the hope of preventing France from agreeing to an

armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

, but Reynaud resigns when his own cabinet refuses to accept it. *17 June **

becomes Prime Minister of France and immediately asks Germany for peace terms. **

Operation Aerial Operation Aerial was the evacuation of Allied forces and civilians from ports in western France from 15 to 25 June 1940 during the Second World War. The evacuation followed the Allied military collapse in the Battle of France against Nazi Germ ...

begins – Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany's takeover of Paris and most of the nation. **

Junkers 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

bomber sinks , serving as a British

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

evacuating troops and nationals from near Saint-Nazaire, with the loss of at least 4,000 lives, immediate news of which is suppressed in the British press. *18 June –

Appeal of 18 June The Appeal of 18 June (french: L'Appel du 18 juin) was the first speech made by Charles de Gaulle after his arrival in London in 1940 following the Battle of France. Broadcast to Vichy France by the radio services of the British Broadcasting Cor ...

: General Charles de Gaulle, ''de facto'' leader of the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

, makes his first broadcast appeal over Radio Londres from London, rallying the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

, calling on all French people to continue the fight against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

: "France has lost a battle. But France has not lost the war". *21 June –

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

negotiations begin at

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 ...

. *22 June –

Armistice of 22 June 1940 The Armistice of 22 June 1940 was signed at 18:36 near Compiègne, France, by officials of Nazi Germany and the Third French Republic. It did not come into effect until after midnight on 25 June. Signatories for Germany included Wilhelm Keitel ...

: 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 19 ...

and

sign an armistice ending the Battle of France, in the

Forest of Compiègne The Forest of Compiègne (french: Forêt de Compiègne, ) is a large forest in the region of Picardy, France, near the city of Compiègne and approximately north of Paris. The forest is notable as the site of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 b ...

, in the same Wagons-Lits railroad car used by Marshal

Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Ar ...

to conclude the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

with Germany. This divides France into a '' Zone occupée'' in the north and west, under the

Military Administration in France (Nazi Germany) The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

, and a southern ''

Zone libre The ''zone libre'' (, ''free zone'') was a partition of the French metropolitan territory during World War II, established at the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June 1940. It lay to the south of the demarcation line and was administered b ...

'',

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 te ...

. *23 June –

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

surveys newly defeated Paris. *24 June –

signs armistice terms with Italy. *28 June – General Charles de Gaulle is officially recognized by Britain as "Leader of all

Free French 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 ...

men, wherever they may be." *3 July – Attack on Mers-el-Kébir: British naval units sink or seize ships of the French fleet anchored in the

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n ports of Mers El Kébir and Oran to prevent them from falling into German hands. *4 July –

breaks off diplomatic relations with Britain. *10 July –

begins with a constitutional law where only 80 members of the parliament vote against. *12 September –

Lascaux Lascaux ( , ; french: Grotte de Lascaux , "Lascaux Cave") is a network of caves near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne in southwestern France. Over 600 parietal wall paintings cover the interior walls and ceilings of ...

: 17,000-year-old cave paintings are discovered by a group of young Frenchmen hiking through Southern France. The paintings depict animals and date to the Stone Age.

Births

January to June

*14 January –

Georgie Dann Georges Mayer Dahan (14 January 1940 – 3 November 2021), performing as Georgie Dann, was a Spain-based French singer-songwriter, known for his popular summer hits. Career Early life Georges Mayer Dahan was born on 14 January 1940 in Paris, t ...

, singer (died 2021) *30 January – Françoise Delord, ornithologiste and zoo-owner (died 2021) *6 March ** Philippe Amaury, publishing

tycoon A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

(died 2006) ** Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, philosopher, literary critic, and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

(died 2007) *18 March –

Arlette Laguiller Arlette Yvonne Laguiller (born 18 March 1940) is a French politician. From 1973 to 2008, she was the spokeswoman and the best-known leader and presidential nominee of Lutte Ouvrière (LO), Trotskyist political party. Career Born at Les Lilas, ...

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...

politician *25 March – Jean Ichbiah, computer scientist (died 2007) *13 April – J. M. G. Le Clézio, writer and professor *27 May – Jean-Claude Piumi, soccer player (died 1996) *17 June – Marcel Aubour, international soccer player

July to December

*23 July –

Danielle Collobert Danielle Collobert was a French author, poet and journalist. Biography Danielle Collobert was born in Rostrenen, Côtes-d'Armor on 23 July 1940. Her mother, a teacher, was obliged to live in a neighbouring village, and Collobert thus grew up a ...

, author, poet and journalist (died 1978) *28 August – Philippe Léotard, actor and singer (died 2001) *31 August –

Jean-Pierre Teisseire Jean-Pierre Teisseire (born 31 August 1940) is a French politician. Teisseire entered local politics as a member of the Union for French Democracy party and later the Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=n ...

, politician and professional football player *1 September – Annie Ernaux, née Duchesne, author, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature *24 September – Yves Navarre, writer (died 1994) *24 October – Jean-Pierre Genet, cyclist (died 2005) *30 December – Philippe Cousteau,

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

(died 1979)

Deaths

*16 January – Émile-Félix Gautier, geographer (born 1864) *2 February –

Eugène Apert Eugène Charles Apert (27 July 1868 – 2 February 1940) was a French pediatrician born in Paris. He received his doctorate in 1897 and afterwards was associated with the Hôtel-Dieu and Hôpital Saint-Louis. From 1919 until 1934, he worked ...

, pediatrician (born 1868) *14 March – Paul Lemoine, geologist (born

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Bat ...

) *24 March – Edouard Branly, inventor and physicist (born 1844) *13 April –

Pierre Marie Pierre Marie (9 September 1853 – 13 April 1940) was a French neurology, neurologist and political journalist close to the French Section of the Workers' International, SFIO. Medical Career After finishing medical school, he served as an int ...

, neurologist (born 1853) *18 May – Adolphe Guillaumat, army general (born 1864) *23 May – Paul Nizan, philosopher and writer (born 1905) *6 June –

Maurice Arnoux Commandant Maurice Albert Alfred Jean Arnoux (7 September 1895 – 6 June 1940) was a French World War I flying ace credited with List of World War I aces credited with 5 victories, five aerial victories. After the end of the First World War ...

, World War I flying ace (born

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

) *2 August – Jules-Louis Breton, chemist, politician and inventor (born

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

) *25 August – Prince Jean, Duke of Guise, great-grandson of

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

, King of the French (born 1874) *4 September – Émile Régnier, World War I flying ace (born

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

) *27 November ** Jean Chiappe, civil servant (born

) ** Henri Guillaumet, aviator (born

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world' ...

)

Incumbents

Events

Births

January to June

July to December

Deaths

See also

References

Further reading