1998 in France

Decades:	1970s ; 1980s ; 1990s ; 2000s ; 2010s ;
See also:	Other events in 1998 ; History of France · Timeline ·; Years

Last updated October 08, 2025

Incumbents

Events

6 February – The French prefect Claude Erignac is assassinated in the streets of Ajaccio, Corsica.
15 March – Cantonales Elections held.
15 March – Regional Elections held.
22 March – Cantonales Elections held.
April – The Renault Laguna is restyled more than four years after its launch. An all-new model is due in the year 2000.
11 May – The first euro coins are minted in Pessac, France. Because the final specifications for the coins were not finished in 1998, they will have to be melted and minted again in 1999.
12 June – The Football World Cup commences in France. The host nation defeats South Africa 3–0 in their opening group game. Christophe Dugarry and Thierry Henry are on the scoresheet, with an own goal from opponent Pierra Issa completing the victory.
18 June – France's World Cup quest continues in fine form with a 4–0 win over Saudi Arabia in which Thierry Henry scored twice, with the other goals coming from David Trezeguet and Bixente Lizarazu.
24 June – France are group winners and progress to the last 16 of the World Cup with a 2–1 win over Denmark in which Youri Djorkaeff and Emmanuel Petit score.
28 June – An extra time goal by Laurent Blanc gives France a 1–0 win over Paraguay in the last 16 of the World Cup.
3 July – France win the World Cup quarter final against Italy on penalties after a goalless draw.
8 July – France reach the World Cup final with a semi-final win over Croatia. Defender Lilian Thuram is on the scoresheet twice in a 2–1 win.
12 July – France are football world champions for the first time ever with a 3–0 win over holders Brazil at the Stade de France. Zinedine Zidane scores twice before Emmanuel Petit's injury time goal completes the victory.
10 September – Peugeot launches the all-new 206 supermini, a replacement for the long-running 205. It gives Peugeot a much more modern car to rival the likes of the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo.
31 December – The final Peugeot 205 rolls off the assembly line, more than 15 years after production began. It was mostly sold only in France for the last two years of its production, having been one of Europe's best selling cars in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Its replacement is the 206, which has been built in France and Britain since the autumn.

Arts and literature

Claude Serre, French cartoonist (b. 1938)^[1]

Sport

10 June – 1998 FIFA World Cup begins in France.
28 June – French Grand Prix takes place, won by Michael Schumacher of Germany.
11 July – Tour de France begins in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
12 July – World Cup ends, won by France.
2 August – Tour de France ends, won by Marco Pantani of Italy.

Births

11 March – Axel Disasi, footballer
2 October – Maxime Godart, actor
22 October – Cécile Haussernot, chess player
17 December – Pierre Gouzou, trampoline gymnast
20 December – Kylian Mbappé, footballer

Deaths

January to March

18 January – Georges Coudray, politician (b. 1902)
28 January – Louise Laroche, one of the last remaining survivors of the sinking of the RMS Titanic (b. 1910)
6 February – Marcela Delpastre, author (b. 1925)
9 February – Maurice Schumann, politician (b. 1911)
1 March – Jean Marie Balland, Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1934)
30 March – Michèle Arnaud, singer, producer and director (b. 1919)

April to June

4 April – Pierre Lantier, composer and pianist (b. 1910)
8 April – René Pellos, artist (b. 1900)
13 April – Patrick de Gayardon, skydiver, skysurfer and BASE jumper (b. 1960)
19 April – Armand Jammot, television producer (b. 1922)
21 April – Jean-François Lyotard, philosopher and literary theorist (b. 1924)
22 April – Régine Pernoud, historian and medievalist (b. 1909)
27 April – Anne Desclos, journalist and novelist (b. 1907)^[2]
13 May – Chantal Mauduit, alpinist (b. 1964)
14 June – Ginette Mathiot, food writer (b. 1907)
14 June – Éric Tabarly, sailor (b. 1931)
29 June – Louis Hostin, weightlifter and Olympic champion (b. 1908)
30 June – Léon Arthur Elchinger, Bishop of Strasbourg (b. 1908)
June – Jean Emile Charon, nuclear physicist (b. 1920)

July to December

4 July – Roger Calmel, composer (b. 1920)
6 August – André Weil, mathematician (b. 1906)
6 October – Jean-François Jenny-Clark, double bass player (b. 1944)
October – René Pleimelding, soccer player (b. 1925)
8 November – Jean Marais, actor (b. 1913)
10 November – Jean Leray, mathematician (b. 1906)
11 November – Gérard Grisey, composer (b. 1946)
13 November – Edwige Feuillère, actress (b. 1907)
13 November – Claude Serre, cartoonist (b. 1938)
November – Gustave Malécot, mathematician (b. 1911)

Full date unknown

Maurice Bardèche, essayist, literary and art critic, journalist and Neo-Fascist (b. 1907)
Lucien Bodard, reporter and writer on events in Asia (b. 1914)
Jean-Pierre Brucato, soccer player (b. 1944)
Philippe Charbonneaux, product designer (b. 1917)
Louis Dumont, anthropologist (b. 1911)
Jacques Médecin, politician (b. 1928)
Jean-Jacques Millant, bow maker (b. 1928)
Jackie Sardou, actress (b. 1919)
Marc Sautet, philosopher and writer (b. 1947)
Pierre Villette, composer (b. 1926)

References

↑ "Claude Serre - Le site officiel". serre-humour.com (in French). Retrieved 12 January 2018.
↑ Flower, John (17 January 2013). Historical Dictionary of French Literature. Scarecrow Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-0-8108-7945-4.

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[1] "Claude Serre - Le site officiel". serre-humour.com (in French). Retrieved 12 January 2018.

[2] Flower, John (17 January 2013). Historical Dictionary of French Literature. Scarecrow Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-0-8108-7945-4.

[1]

[2]

v t e Years in France
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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 2025

v t e 1998 in Europe
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