Events from the year 1945 in France.

Incumbents

* Chairman of the Provisional Government (also Prime Minister):

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

Events

*1 January? –

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

refuses the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. *6 February – Writer

Robert Brasillach Robert Brasillach (; 31 March 1909 – 6 February 1945) was a French author and journalist. Brasillach was the editor of ''Je suis partout'', a nationalist newspaper which advocated fascist movements and supported Jacques Doriot. After the liberat ...

executed for

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

with the Germans. *9 March – Japanese overthrow the

Vichy French 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 terr ...

Decoux Government 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 ...

. *2 May –

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 ...

is the first woman to be admitted to the

Académie Goncourt The Société littéraire des Goncourt (Goncourt Literary Society), usually called the Académie Goncourt (Goncourt Academy), is a French literary organisation based in Paris. It was founded in 1900 by the French writer and publisher Edmond de Go ...

. *7 May – General

Alfred Jodl Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl (; 10 May 1890 – 16 October 1946) was a German ''Generaloberst'' who served as the chief of the Operations Staff of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' – the German Armed Forces High Command – throughout World ...

signs unconditional surrender terms at

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, ending Germany's participation in the war. The document will take effect the next day. *8 May – World War II ends in Europe. *8–29 May – In

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

, French troops kill an estimated 6,000 Algerian citizens in the

Sétif massacre Sétif ( ar, سطيف, ber, Sṭif) is the capital of the Sétif Province in Algeria. It is one of the most important cities of eastern Algeria and the country as a whole, since it is considered the trade capital of the country. It is an inner ci ...

. *23 July – Marshal

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 ...

, who headed the

Vichy government 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 terr ...

during World War II, goes on trial, charged with treason. *31 July –

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 ...

, fugitive former leader of

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 ...

, surrenders to

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

soldiers in Austria. *19–30 August –

Việt 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 Front ...

under

Hồ Chí Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as ('Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), ('Father of the Nation, Old father of the people') and by other Pseudonym, aliases, was a Vietnamese people, Vietnam ...

carry out the

August Revolution The August Revolution ( vi, Cách-mạng tháng Tám), also known as the August General Uprising (), was a revolution launched by the Việt Minh (League for the Independence of Vietnam) against the Empire of Vietnam and the Empire of Japan in ...

in Vietnam. *October –

École nationale d'administration The École nationale d'administration (generally referred to as ENA, en, National School of Administration) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by President of France, President Charles de Gaulle and principal author of the Constitu ...

established. *15 October – Former premier of

, is executed by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. *21 October –

Legislative Election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held. Women are allowed to vote for the first time. *13 November –

elected head of a French

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

. *2 December – French banks (

Banque de France The Bank of France ( French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the F ...

, BNCI, CNEP,

Crédit Lyonnais The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th cent ...

, and

Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English as SocGen (), is a French-based multinational financial services company founded in 1864, registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby in La Défense. Société Générale ...

) nationalized. *21 December –

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed by P ...

is appointed minister of information by de Gaulle. *

Duralex Duralex is a French tempered glass tableware and kitchenware manufacturer located in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin in Loiret.John Lichfield"Duralex – the glass tumbler that would not be broken" The Independent, 27 January 2010. Using a technique deve ...

glass tableware manufacturers established in

La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin () is a French commune in the Loiret department, region of Centre-Val de Loire. The village is located in the natural region of France of the Loire Valley and in the metropolis of Orléans. It is one of the 22 town of ...

. * La tennis Bensimon business is founded.''Elle'' magazine article (in French)
/ref>

Births

*22 January –

Jean-Pierre Nicolas Jean-Pierre Nicolas (born 22 January 1945) is a retired French professional rally driver who competed mainly in the 1970s. Nicolas took five WRC event wins in the World Rally Championship. His best result in the drivers' championship was second ...

, racing driver and manager *17 February –

Bernard Rapp Bernard Rapp (17 February 1945 – 17 August 2006) was a French film director and television news presenter. Rapp was born in Paris. After graduating from university, he worked as a freelance journalist. In 1976, he joined Antenne 2 (now France ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and television

news presenter A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

(died 2006) *4 April –

Daniel Cohn-Bendit Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit (; ; born 4 April 1945) is a French-German politician of Jewish descent. He was a student leader during the unrest of May 1968 in France and was also known during that time as ''Dany le Rouge'' (French for "Danny the Red" ...

, political activist and politician *7 April –

Joël Robuchon Joël Robuchon (, 7 April 1945 – 6 August 2018) was a French chef and restaurateur. He was named "Chef of the Century" by the guide Gault Millau in 1989, and awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (France's best worker) in cuisine in 1976. ...

, chef (died 2018) *15 April –

Christian Bergelin Christian Bergelin (15 April 1945 – 26 March 2008) was a French politician. He was Secretary of State for Sport and Youth in the Government of Jacques Chirac (1986–1988).Françoise Chandernagor Françoise Chandernagor (born 15 June 1945, Palaiseau) is a French writer. The daughter of André Chandernagor, she is a former student of the École nationale d'administration, and she became a member of the Council of State in 1969. Biography ...

, writer *20 June –

Jean-Claude Izzo Jean-Claude Izzo (Marseille 20 June 1945 – Marseille 26 January 2000) was a French poet, playwright, screenwriter, and novelist who achieved sudden fame in the mid-1990s with the publication of his three neo-noir crime novels ''Total Chaos'', ...

, poet, playwright, screenwriter and novelist (died 2000) *30 July –

Patrick Modiano Jean Patrick Modiano (; born 30 July 1945), generally known as Patrick Modiano, is a French novelist and recipient of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is a noted writer of autofiction, the blend of autobiography and historical fiction. I ...

, novelist, Nobel laureate *12 August –

Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and ''Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has ob ...

, architect *27 August –

Catherine Leroy Catherine Leroy (August 27, 1944 - July 8, 2006) was a France, French-born photojournalist and war photographer, whose stark images of battle illustrated the story of the Vietnam War in the pages of Life (magazine), ''Life'' magazine and other publ ...

, photojournalist and photographer (died 2006) *12 October –

Aurore Clément Aurore Clément (born 12 October 1945) is a French actress who has appeared in French and English language movies and television productions. Early life She was born Marie-Thérèse Aurore Louise Clément in Soissons. Following the death of her ...

, actress *13 October – Christophe (Daniel Bevilacqua), singer-songwriter (died 2020) *16 October –

Pascal Sevran Pascal Sevran (16 October 1945 – 9 May 2008) was a French TV presenter and author. Biography Son of a communist taxi driver, and a Spanish seamstress, Pascal Sevran was born on 16 October 1945 in Paris. His real name was Jean-Claude Jouhaud. He ...

, television presenter and author (died 2008) *28 October –

François-Xavier Verschave François-Xavier Verschave (28 October 1945, in Lille – 29 June 2005, in Villeurbanne) was primarily known as one of the founders of the French NGO '' Survie'' ("Survival"), over which he presided since 1995, and as coiner of the term ''Françafr ...

, a founder of

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

Survie Survie (French language, French for "survival") is a non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1984 to fight hunger and corruption in the Third World. It has since become a federation of departmental associations, composed of 1,600 paying m ...

'' (died 2005)

Deaths

*5 February - **

Denise Bloch Denise Madeleine Bloch (; 21 January 1916 – 5 February 1945) was an agent working with the clandestine British Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization in the Second World War. Captured by the Germans, she was executed at Ravensbrück ...

, heroine of World War II (born 1916) ** Lilian Rolfe, heroine of World War II (born 1914) **

Violette Szabo Violette Reine Elizabeth Szabo, GC ( née Bushell; 26 June 1921 – February 1945) was a British-French Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent during the Second World War and a posthumous recipient of the George Cross. On her second mission ...

, World War II Allied secret agent (born 1921) *6 February –

, author, executed for collaboration (born 1909) *23 March – Elisabeth de Rothschild, World War II heroine (born 1902) *30 March –

Élise Rivet Élise Rivet, also known as Mère Marie Élisabeth de l'Eucharistie (January 19, 1890, Draria, Algeria – March 30, 1945, Ravensbrück concentration camp, Germany) was a Roman Catholic nun and World War II heroine. Rivet volunteered to go to th ...

, nun and World War II heroine (born 1890) *8 June –

Robert Desnos Robert Desnos (; 4 July 1900 – 8 June 1945) was a French poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement of his day. Biography Robert Desnos was born in Paris on 4 July 1900, the son of a licensed dealer in game and poultry at the '' H ...

, surrealist poet (born 1900) *20 July –

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, mus ...

, poet, essayist and philosopher (born 1871) *8 August –

Le Pétomane Joseph Pujol (June 1, 1857 – August 8, 1945), better known by his stage name Le Pétomane (, ), was a French flatulist (professional farter) and entertainer. He was famous for his remarkable control of the abdominal muscles, which enabled him t ...

(Joseph Pujol),

flatulist A flatulist, fartist, or professional farter is an entertainer often associated with a specific type of humor, whose routine consists solely or primarily of passing gas in a creative, musical, or amusing manner. History There are a number of ...

(born 1857) *15 October –

, politician and Prime Minister, executed (born 1883) *26 October –

Paul Pelliot Paul Eugène Pelliot (28 May 187826 October 1945) was a French Sinologist and Orientalist best known for his explorations of Central Asia and his discovery of many important Chinese texts such as the Dunhuang manuscripts. Early life and caree ...

, sinologist and explorer (born 1878)

References

{{Year in Europe, 1945 1940s in France

Incumbents

Events

Births

Deaths

See also

References