1960 in France

Decades:	1940s ; 1950s ; 1960s ; 1970s ; 1980s ;
See also:	Other events of 1960 ; History of France • Timeline • Years

Last updated October 18, 2023

Incumbents

Events

6 January – Manifesto of the 121 is published.
22 January – President Charles de Gaulle fires General Jacques Massu from Algeria following an interview in a German newspaper where he stated that the army may have made a mistake in returning him to power.
24 January – A major insurrection occurs in Algiers against French colonial policy.
13 February – France tests its first atomic bomb in the Sahara.
23 March – Nikita Khrushchev meets Charles De Gaulle in Paris.
12 April – Eric Peugeot, youngest son of the founder of Peugeot, is kidnapped in Paris. Kidnappers release him 15 April in exchange for $300,000 ransom.
27 April – Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship.
11 May – The SS France is launched for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire by Yvonne de Gaulle.
3 June – The first Carrefour store opens in Annecy.^[1]
20 June – The Mali Federation between Senegal and Sudanese Republic (now Mali) gains independence from France.
5 August – Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) declares independence from France.
17 August – Gabon gains independence from France.
28 November – Mauritania becomes independent of France.
5 December – Pierre Lagaillarde, who led 1958 and 1960 insurrections in Algeria, fails to appear in a Paris court. He has reportedly fled with his four fellow defendants to Spain, en route to Algeria.^[2]
9 December – President Charles de Gaulle's visit to Algeria is marked by bloody riots by European and Muslim mobs in Algeria's largest cities, killing 127 people.
14 December – The OECD is formed in Paris.
27 December – France sets off its third nuclear test blast at its atomic proving grounds at Reggane, Algeria.

Arts and literature

25 March – Tom Pillibi by Jacqueline Boyer (music by André Popp, text by Pierre Cour) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 for France.
10 November – Édith Piaf's recording of "Non, je ne regrette rien" is released.

Sport

26 June – Tour de France begins.
17 July – Tour de France ends, won by Gastone Nencini of Italy.

Births

23 January – Patrick de Gayardon, skydiver, skysurfer and BASE jumper (died 1998)
18 March – Jean-Pierre Bade, soccer player
18 May – Yannick Noah, tennis player and musician
15 June – Patrick Edlinger, rock climber (died 2012)
8 July – Yann LeCun, computer scientist
12 July – Corynne Charby, actress, singer and model
24 July – Catherine Destivelle, rock climber and mountaineer

Deaths

4 January – Albert Camus, author, philosopher, and journalist who won the Nobel prize in 1957 (born 1913)
13 March – Louis Wagner, motor racing driver (born 1882)
1 April – Madeleine Rolland, translator and peace activist (born 1872)
23 May – Georges Claude, engineer, chemist and inventor (born 1870)
14 July – Maurice, 6th duc de Broglie, physicist (born 1875)

Related Research Articles

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French army officer and statesman who led Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1946 in order to restore democracy in France. In 1958, he came out of retirement when appointed President of the Council of Ministers by President René Coty. He rewrote the Constitution of France and founded the Fifth Republic after approval by referendum. He was elected President of France later that year, a position to which he was re-elected in 1965 and held until his resignation in 1969.

The Organisation armée secrète was a far-right French dissident paramilitary and terrorist organisation during the Algerian War. The OAS carried out terrorist attacks, including bombings and assassinations, in an attempt to prevent Algeria's independence from French colonial rule. Its motto was L’Algérie est française et le restera.

The Algerian War was a major armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria winning its independence from France. An important decolonization war, it was a complex conflict characterized by guerrilla warfare and war crimes. The conflict also became a civil war between the different communities and within the communities. The war took place mainly on the territory of Algeria, with repercussions in metropolitan France.

Georges-Augustin Bidault was a French politician. During World War II, he was active in the French Resistance. After the war, he served as foreign minister and premier on several occasions. He apparently joined the Organisation armée secrète; however he always denied his involvement.

Events from the year 2004 in France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michel Debré</span> Prime Minister of France from 1959 to 1962

Michel Jean-Pierre Debré was the first Prime Minister of the French Fifth Republic. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France. He served under President Charles de Gaulle from 1959 to 1962. In terms of political personality, Debré was intense and immovable and had a tendency to rhetorical extremism.

Vincent Jules Auriol was a French politician who served as President of France from 1947 to 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Bastien-Thiry</span> French Air Force lieutenant-colonel

Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry was a French Air Force lieutenant-colonel and military air-weaponry engineer. He was the creator of the Nord SS.10/SS.11 missiles. He attempted to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle on 22 August 1962, following de Gaulle's decision to accept Algerian independence. The attack made international headlines. Bastien-Thiry was the last person to be executed by firing squad in France.

The decolonisation of Africa is a process that largely took place from the mid-1950s to 1975 during the Cold War, with radical government changes on the continent as colonial governments made the transition to independent states. The process was often marred with violence, political turmoil, widespread unrest, and organised revolts in both northern and sub-Saharan countries including the Mau Mau rebellion in British Kenya, the Algerian War in French Algeria, the Congo Crisis in the Belgian Congo, the Angolan War of Independence in Portuguese Angola, the Zanzibar Revolution in the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and the Nigerian Civil War in the secessionist state of Biafra.

The French Community was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial empire in 1946. While the Community remained formally in existence until 1995, when the French Parliament officially abolished it, it had effectively ceased to exist and function by the end of 1960, by which time all the African members had declared their independence and left it.

Pierre Lagaillarde was a French politician, and a founder of the Organisation armée secrète (OAS).

The Algiers putsch, also known as the Generals' putsch, was a failed coup d'état intended to force French President Charles de Gaulle not to abandon French Algeria, along with the resident European community and pro-French Muslims. Organised in French Algeria by retired French Army generals Maurice Challe, Edmond Jouhaud, André Zeller and Raoul Salan, it took place from the afternoon of 21 to 26 April 1961 in the midst of the Algerian War (1954–1962).

The May 1958 crisis, also known as the Algiers putsch or the coup of 13 May, was a political crisis in France during the turmoil of the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962) which led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic and its replacement by the Fifth Republic led by Charles de Gaulle who returned to power after a twelve-year absence. It started as a political uprising in Algiers on 13 May 1958 and then became a military coup d'état led by a coalition headed by Algiers deputy and reserve airborne officer Pierre Lagaillarde, French Generals Raoul Salan, Edmond Jouhaud, Jean Gracieux, and Jacques Massu, and by Admiral Philippe Auboyneau, commander of the Mediterranean fleet. The coup was supported by former Algerian Governor General Jacques Soustelle and his activist allies.

Known as the Year of Africa, 1960 saw 17 African countries declare independence among other events.

Jean-Jacques Susini was a French political figure, militant and cofounder of the Organisation armée secrète (OAS), a paramilitary organization opposing Algerian independence from France.

Events from the year 1962 in France.

Events from the year 1958 in France.

Events from the year 1966 in France.

Events from the year 1961 in France.

Events from the year 1965 in France.

References

↑ Thomas Derdak; Tina Grant (1999). International Directory of Company Histories. St. James Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-55862-386-6.
↑ Mansoor, Menahem (1972). Political and Diplomatic History of the Arab World, 1900-1967: 1960-64. NCR Microcard Editions. ISBN 9780910972093.

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[1] Thomas Derdak; Tina Grant (1999). International Directory of Company Histories. St. James Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-55862-386-6.

[2] Mansoor, Menahem (1972). Political and Diplomatic History of the Arab World, 1900-1967: 1960-64. NCR Microcard Editions. ISBN 9780910972093.

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v t e Years in France
13th century	Pre-1201 1201 1202 1203 1204 1205 1206 1207 1208 1209 1210 1211 1312 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
18th century	1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 1707 1708 1709 1710 1711 1712 1713 1714 1715 1716 1717 1718 1719 1720 1721 1722 1723 1724 1725 1726 1727 1728 1729 1730 1731 1732 1733 1734 1735 1736 1737 1738 1739 1740 1741 1742 1743 1744 1745 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758 1759 1760 1761 1762 1763 1764 1765 1766 1767 1768 1769 1770 1771 1772 1773 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800
19th century	1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900
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21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024