1959 in France explained

Events from the year 1959 in France.

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)
• 19 October – Marie-Luce Brasier-Clain, politician

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)

See also

• 1959 in French television
• List of French films of 1959

Notes and References

1. Web site: 22 November 2019 . 60 ans après la catastrophe - A Fréjus, les 423 morts du Malpasset hantent toujours les survivants . 22 November 2019 . www.lamontagne.fr.
2. News: 6 March 1959 . Television Programmes – Wednesday Evening . 19 . . 11 June 2022.
3. Web site: BDoubliées. Les BD oubliées D'Astérix. fr. 2013-10-03.
4. Web site: 6 November 1999 . Christine_Angot . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110717134450/http://igrs.sas.ac.uk/research/CWWF/Christine_Angot.htm . 17 July 2011 . 24 April 2011 . Igrs.sas.ac.uk.
5. Book: Notice de personne. fr. BNF. 2023-02-26.