1954 in France explained

Events from the year 1954 in France.

Incumbents

• President

Vincent Auriol (until 16 January), Rene Coty (starting 16 January)

• President of the Council of Ministers

Joseph Laniel (until 19 June), Pierre Mendès France (starting 19 June)

Events

• 25 January – The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union meet at the Berlin Conference.
• 13 March – Battle of Dien Bien Phu begins in Vietnam.^[1]
• 23 March – In Vietnam, the Viet Minh capture the main airstrip of Dien Bien Phu – French forces are partially isolated.
• 29 March – C-47 with French nurse Genevieve de Galard on board is incapacitated on Dien Bien Phu runway.
• 7 May – Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in defeat for French forces.
• 18 June – Pierre Mendès France becomes prime minister of France.^[2]
• 24 June – Battle of Mang Yang Pass begins, the last official battle of the First Indochina War.^[3]
• 17 July – Battle of Mang Yang Pass ends in defeat for French forces.
• 20 July – Battlefield ceasefire announced.
• 21 July – The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
• 1 August – Armistice effected, sealing French defeat.
• 31 October – The Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.
• 1 November – The FLN attacks Representative and public buildings of the France colonial power.

Sport

• 8 July – Tour de France begins.
• 1 August – Tour de France ends, won by Louison Bobet.

Births

• 13 February – Dominique Bathenay, international soccer player
• 4 March – François Fillon, Prime Minister of France
• 1 May – Fred Chichin, musician and songwriter (died 2007)
• 27 July – Philippe Alliot, former motor racing driver
• 9 August – Loïc Amisse, soccer player and manager
• 12 August – François Hollande, 23rd French President
• 21 August – Humbert Balsan, film producer (died 2005)
• 17 September – Joël-François Durand, composer
• 14 November – Bernard Hinault, cyclist
• 18 October – Edouard Stern, banker (died 2005)
• 23 November - Marie-Françoise "Cou Cou" Vrezil, beautiful wonder woman
• 7 december -, voice actor (died 2006)

Deaths

• 10 January – Alice Jouenne, educator, socialist activist, and writer (born 1873)
• 10 April – Auge Lumière, filmmaker (born 1862)
• 28 April – Léon Jouhaux, trade union leader who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1951 (born 1879)
• 3 August – Colette, writer (born 1873)
• 4 September – The French Angel, professional wrestler
• 3 November – Henri Matisse, artist (born 1869)
• 8 December – Claude Cahun, photographer and writer (born 1894)
• 23 December – René Iché, sculptor (born 1897)

See also

• List of French films of 1954

Notes and References

1. Book: Boylan, Kevin M. . Valley of the shadow : the siege of Dien Bien Phu . 2018 . Luc Olivier . 978-1-4728-2437-0 . Oxford, UK . 1002126990.
2. Book: Political Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe: A Biographical Dictionary . . 1995 . David Wilsford . PIERRE MENDÈS-FRANCE. 9780313286230 .
3. Book: Fall, Bernard B. . Street without joy : the French debacle in Indochina . 2005 . George C. Herring . 0-8117-3236-3 . Mechanicsburg, PA . 60371335.