1945 in France

Decades:	1920s ; 1930s ; 1940s ; 1950s ; 1960s ;
See also:	History of France ; Timeline of French history ; List of years in France ;

Last updated January 25, 2026

Incumbents

Chairman of the Provisional Government (also Prime Minister): Charles de Gaulle

Events

1 January? – Jean-Paul Sartre refuses the Legion of Honour.
6 February – Writer Robert Brasillach executed for collaboration with the Germans.
9 March – Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina: Japanese forces overthrow the Vichy French Decoux Government in Vietnam.
2 May – Colette is the first woman to be admitted to the Académie Goncourt.
7 May – General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Rheims, ending Germany's participation in the war. The document takes effect the next day.
8 May – World War II ends in Europe.
8–29 May – In Algeria, French troops kill an estimated 6,000 Algerian citizens in the Sétif massacre.
23 July – Marshal Philippe Pétain, chief of state of Vichy France goes on trial, charged with treason.
31 July – Pierre Laval, fugitive former prime minister of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.
19–30 August – Việt Minh under Ho Chi Minh carry out the August Revolution in Vietnam.
October – École nationale d'administration established.
15 October – Pierre Laval, former prime minister of Vichy France, is executed by firing squad for treason.
21 October – Legislative Election held. Women are allowed to vote for the first time.
13 November – Charles de Gaulle elected head of a French provisional government.
2 December – French banks (Banque de France, BNCI, CNEP, Crédit Lyonnais and Société Générale) are nationalized.
21 December – André Malraux is appointed minister of information by de Gaulle.
Duralex glass tableware manufacturers established in La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin.
La tennis Bensimon business is founded.^[1]

Births

22 January – Jean-Pierre Nicolas, racing driver and manager
17 February – Bernard Rapp, film director and television news presenter (died 2006)
4 April – Daniel Cohn-Bendit, political activist and politician
7 April – Joël Robuchon, chef (died 2018)
15 April – Christian Bergelin, politician (died 2008)
15 June – Françoise Chandernagor, writer
20 June – Jean-Claude Izzo, poet, playwright, screenwriter and novelist (died 2000)
30 July – Patrick Modiano, novelist, Nobel laureate
12 August – Jean Nouvel, architect
27 August – Catherine Leroy, photojournalist and photographer (died 2006)
12 October – Aurore Clément, actress
13 October – Christophe (Daniel Bevilacqua), singer-songwriter (died 2020)
16 October – Pascal Sevran, television presenter and author (died 2008)
28 October – François-Xavier Verschave, a founder of NGO Survie (died 2005)

Deaths

5 February -
- Denise Bloch, heroine of World War II (born 1916)
- Lilian Rolfe, heroine of World War II (born 1914)
- Violette Szabo, World War II Allied secret agent (born 1921)
6 February – Robert Brasillach, author, executed for collaboration (born 1909)
23 March – Elisabeth de Rothschild, World War II heroine (born 1902)
30 March – Élise Rivet, nun and World War II heroine (born 1890)
3 April – Raoul Dutheil, footballer (born 1903)
8 June – Robert Desnos, surrealist poet (born 1900)
20 July – Paul Valéry, poet, essayist and philosopher (born 1871)
8 August – Le Pétomane (Joseph Pujol), flatulist (born 1857)
15 October – Pierre Laval, politician and Prime Minister, executed (born 1883)
26 October – Paul Pelliot, sinologist and explorer (born 1878)

References

↑ Elle magazine article (in French)

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[1] Elle magazine article (in French)

[1]

v t e Years in France
13th century	Pre-1201 1201 1202 1203 1204 1205 1206 1207 1208 1209 1210 1211 1212 1213 1214 1215 1216 1217 1218 1219 1220 1221 1222 1223 1224 1225 1226 1227 1228 1229 1230 1231 1232 1233 1234 1235 1236 1237 1238 1239 1240 1241 1242 1243 1244 1245 1246 1247 1248 1249 1250 1251 1252 1253 1254 1255 1256 1257 1258 1259 1260 1261 1262 1263 1264 1265 1266 1267 1268 1269 1270 1271 1272 1273 1274 1275 1276 1277 1278 1279 1280 1281 1282 1283 1284 1285 1286 1287 1288 1289 1290 1291 1292 1293 1294 1295 1296 1297 1298 1299 1300
14th century	1301 1302 1303 1304 1305 1306 1307 1308 1309 1310 1311 1312 1313 1314 1315 1316 1317 1318 1319 1320 1321 1322 1323 1324 1325 1326 1327 1328 1329 1330 1331 1332 1333 1334 1335 1336 1337 1338 1339 1340 1341 1342 1343 1344 1345 1346 1347 1348 1349 1350 1351 1352 1353 1354 1355 1356 1357 1358 1359 1360 1361 1362 1363 1364 1365 1366 1367 1368 1369 1370 1371 1372 1373 1374 1375 1376 1377 1378 1379 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 1385 1386 1387 1388 1389 1390 1391 1392 1393 1394 1395 1396 1397 1398 1399 1400
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17th century	1601 1602 1603 1604 1605 1606 1607 1608 1609 1610 1611 1612 1613 1614 1615 1616 1617 1618 1619 1620 1621 1622 1623 1624 1625 1626 1627 1628 1629 1630 1631 1632 1633 1634 1635 1636 1637 1638 1639 1640 1641 1642 1643 1644 1645 1646 1647 1648 1649 1650 1651 1652 1653 1654 1655 1656 1657 1658 1659 1660 1661 1662 1663 1664 1665 1666 1667 1668 1669 1670 1671 1672 1673 1674 1675 1676 1677 1678 1679 1680 1681 1682 1683 1684 1685 1686 1687 1688 1689 1690 1691 1692 1693 1694 1695 1696 1697 1698 1699 1700
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20th century	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
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