1960 in France explained

Events from the year 1960 in France.

Incumbents

• President

• Prime Minister

Michel Debré

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)

See also

• 1960 in French television
• List of French films of 1960

Notes and References

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