1959 in France

Decades:	1930s ; 1940s ; 1950s ; 1960s ; 1970s ;
See also:	Other events of 1959 ; History of France • Timeline • Years

Last updated May 15, 2023

Incumbents

President: Rene Coty (until 8 January), Charles de Gaulle (starting 8 January)
Prime Minister: Charles de Gaulle (until 8 January), Michel Debré (starting 8 January)

Events

8 January – Charles de Gaulle inaugurated as the first president of French Fifth Republic.
2 December – The Malpasset Dam collapses and floods the town of Fréjus, killing 412.^[1]

Arts and literature

11 March – Eurovision Song Contest held in Cannes.^[2]
29 October – Astérix the Gaul makes a first appearance in the first regular issue of the comic magazine Pilote .^[3]

Sport

25 June – 1959 Tour de France begins.
18 July – 1959 Tour de France ends, won by Federico Bahamontes of Spain, the first Spanish cyclist to win the Tour de France.

Births

1 January – Michel Onfray, philosopher and author
7 February – Christine Angot, novelist and playwright ^[4]
18 March – Luc Besson, film director, writer and producer
1 May – Yasmina Reza, playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter^[5]
14 May – Patrick Bruel, singer and actor
28 May – Steve Jeltz, baseball player
19 June – Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris
6 July – Richard Dacoury, basketball player
15 July – Christian Dornier, murderer
7 September – Pierre Nanterme, business executive (died 2019)

Deaths

21 January – Yves Le Febvre, writer and politician (born 1874)
17 April – Paul Dujardin, water polo player and Olympic medallist (born 1894)
5 May – Georges-François-Xavier-Marie Grente, cardinal (born 1872)
14 May – Sidney Bechet, African American jazz saxophonist (born 1897)
15 May – Jeanne de Flandreysy, writer (born 1874)
22 June – Félix Guignot, physician (born 1882)
23 June – Boris Vian, writer, poet and musician (born 1920)
25 November – Gérard Philipe, actor (born 1922)

Related Research Articles

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1959.

Events from the year 2004 in France.

Le Plus Grand Français de tous les temps was a France 2 show of early 2005, based on an original series of Great Britons on the BBC. The show asked the French viewers whom they thought was the Greatest Frenchman or Frenchwoman. It was presented by Michel Drucker and Thierry Ardisson, and the final episode was broadcast at the French Senate.

Notable events of 1959 in comics. See also List of years in comics.

The Malpasset Dam was an arch dam on the Reyran River, north of Fréjus on the French Riviera. It collapsed on 2 December 1959, killing 423 people in the resulting flood. The breach was caused by a tectonic fault in the impermeable rock base, which had been inadequately surveyed. Nearby road-building works, using explosives, may also have contributed to the disaster.

Christine Angot is a French novelist, playwright and screenwriter.

Events from the year 1944 in France.

Events from the year 2002 in France.

Events from the year 1914 in France.

Events from the year 1932 in France.

Events from the year 1963 in France.

Events from the year 1945 in France.

Events from the year 1947 in France.

Events from the year 1962 in France.

Events from the year 1967 in France.

Events from the year 1969 in France.

Events from the year 1974 in France.

Events from the year 1961 in France.

Events from the year 1964 in France.

Events from the year 1965 in France.

References

↑ "60 ans après la catastrophe - A Fréjus, les 423 morts du Malpasset hantent toujours les survivants". www.lamontagne.fr. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
↑ "Television Programmes – Wednesday Evening". Radio Times . 6 March 1959. p. 19. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
↑ "Les BD oubliées D'Astérix". BDoubliées (in French). Retrieved 3 October 2013.
↑ "Christine_Angot". Igrs.sas.ac.uk. 6 November 1999. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
↑ Notice de personne. BNF (in French). Retrieved 26 February 2023.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[LaM-1] "60 ans après la catastrophe - A Fréjus, les 423 morts du Malpasset hantent toujours les survivants". www.lamontagne.fr. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.

[Radio_Times-2] "Television Programmes – Wednesday Evening". Radio Times . 6 March 1959. p. 19. Retrieved 11 June 2022.

[3] "Les BD oubliées D'Astérix". BDoubliées (in French). Retrieved 3 October 2013.

[4] "Christine_Angot". Igrs.sas.ac.uk. 6 November 1999. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2011.

[5] Notice de personne. BNF (in French). Retrieved 26 February 2023.

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