1999 in France

← 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1999 in France → 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	Other events in 1999 History of France  · Timeline  · Years

Events from the year 1999 in France .

Incumbents

• President: Jacques Chirac
• Prime Minister: Lionel Jospin

Events

• 1 January - the euro currency is introduced for digital transactions in the European Union (EU) Eurozone member countries.
• 3 March – ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty by the French National Assembly.
• 17 March – ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty by the Senate.
• 24 March – Mont Blanc Tunnel fire: A fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel kills 39 people, closing the tunnel for nearly three years.
• 13 June – European Parliament election in France.
• 11 August – a total solar eclipse occurs in the north of France.
• September – The Peugeot 607 is launched to replace the unsuccessful decade-old 605.
• 13 October – Pacte civil de solidarité (a type of civil union) adopted by French Parliament.
• 12 December – a ship, Erika, breaks up near Penmarc'h spilling 37 000 tons of fuel, causing an oil slick on the Breton, Vendean and Charentaise coasts. Loire-Atlantique is particularly affected.
• 26 and 28 December – Storms Lothar and Martin cause heavy damage with winds reaching 180 km/h. The total damage includes more than 90 dead, 6 billion euros paid by the insurers and 10,000 km² of forest devastated.
• 29 December – English woman Evelyn Wilkinson-Lund is reported missing from her home in Rayssac. ^[1]
• Full date unknown – Certificat d'aptitude à l'enseignement aéronautique, a national degree for aeronautics and space knowledge, is introduced. ^[2]

Arts and literature

• 2 September – Publication of Jean-Marie Guéhenno's "L'avenir de la liberté – La démocratie dans la mondialisation", which examines the problems arising from confrontation between the democracy and globalisation

Sport

• 27 June – French Grand Prix won by Heinz-Harald Frentzen of Germany.
• 3 July – Tour de France begins. ^[3]
• 25 July – Tour de France ends, won by Lance Armstrong of the United States. ^[3]

Births

• 21 March – Mélusine Mayance, actress
• 14 April – Matteo Guendouzi, soccer player
• 13 July – Julian Chartier, trampoline gymnast

Deaths

January

• 6 January – Michel Petrucciani, Jazz pianist (b. 1962).
• 19 January – Jacques Lecoq, actor, mime and acting instructor (b. 1921).
• 24 January – Roger Rondeaux, cyclo-cross racer (b. 1920).
• 25 January – Henri Rochereau, politician and European Commissioner (b. 1908).
• 26 January – Jeanne-Marie Darré, pianist (b. 1905).

February

• 3 February – Luc Borrelli, soccer player (b. 1965)
• 4 February – Maurice Najman, journalist (born 1948)
• 12 February – André Devigny, soldier and French Resistance member (b. 1916)
• 18 February – Andreas Feininger, photographer (b. 1906)

March

• 12 March – André Nocquet, aikido teacher (b. 1914).
• 17 March – Jean Pierre-Bloch, French Resistance member (b. 1905).
• 20 March – Elsa Barraine, composer (b. 1910)
• 21 March – Jean Guitton, Catholic philosopher and theologian (b. 1901).

May

• 25 May – René Gallice, soccer player (b. 1919).

June

• 9 June – Maurice Journeau, composer (b. 1898).
• 19 June – Henri, comte de Paris, Orléanist claimant to the French throne (b. 1908).
• 28 June – Louis Ducatel, politician and businessman (b. 1902).
• 30 June – Edouard Boubat, photographer (b. 1923).

July to October

• 16 July – André Martinet, linguist (b. 1908).
• 30 July – Hermann Panzo, athlete (b. 1958).
• 22 August – Yann Goulet, sculptor, Breton nationalist and war-time Nazi collaborationist (b. 1914).
• 30 August – Raymond Poïvet, cartoonist (b. 1910).
• 14 September – Jehan Buhan, fencer (b. 1912).
• 15 September – Michel Pinseau, architect (b. 1924).
• 4 October – Bernard Buffet, painter (b. 1928).
• 27 October – Charlotte Perriand, architect and designer (b. 1903).

November

• 3 November – Alan Heusaff, Breton nationalist and linguist (b. 1921).
• 9 November – Claude Ballot-Léna, motor racing driver (b. 1936).
• 11 November – Alphonse Antoine, cyclist (b. 1915).
• 13 November – Germaine Dieterlen, anthropologist (b. 1903).
• 21 November – Serge Lang, journalist, alpine skier, and founder of the alpine skiing World Cup (b. 1920).
• 25 November – Pierre Bézier, engineer (b. 1910).
• 27 November – Alain Peyrefitte, scholar and politician (b. 1925).

December

• 6 December – Paul Bacon, politician (b. 1907).
• 18 December – Robert Bresson, film director (b. 1901).
• 23 December – Marcel Landowski, composer, biographer and arts administrator (b. 1915).
• 24 December – Maurice Couve de Murville, politician and Prime Minister (b. 1907).
• 28 December – Pierre Clémenti, actor (b. 1942).
• 28 December – Louis Féraud, fashion designer and artist (b. 1921).

Full date unknown

• René Le Hir, Breton nationalist (b. 1920).
• Laure Leprieur, radio personality (b. 1919).

See also

• List of French films of 1999

References

1. "Briton jailed for 12 years in France for killing wife and dumping her". The Standard. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
2. (in French) Certificat d'aptitude à l'enseignement aéronautique
3. Longman, Jeré (10 October 2012). "Lance Armstrong's 1999 Tour de France Triumph Takes a Dark Turn". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2018.