2012 in France explained

Events from the year 2012 in France:

Incumbents

• President: Nicolas Sarkozy (until 16 May), François Hollande (starting 16 May)
• Prime Minister: François Fillon (until 16 May), Jean-Marc Ayrault (starting 16 May)

Events

January

• 11 January – French journalist Gilles Jacquier is killed in Homs, Syria after coming under fire whilst reporting the Syrian civil war for France 2. He is the first Western casualty of the conflict.^[1]
• 13 January – Standard & Poor's downgrades France's credit rating from AAA to AA+.^[2]
• 23 January – The Senate passes a bill criminalising the denial of the Armenian genocide.^[3]

February

• 22 February – The term 'mademoiselle' is removed from official documents following a campaign by feminist organisations.^[4]
• 28 February – The Constitutional Council rules that the bill criminalising denial of the Armenian genocide infringes on freedom of speech, and is therefore unconstitutional. In response, Nicolas Sarkozy orders a redraft of the bill.^[5]

March

• March 22 – Mohammed Merah, responsible for the Toulouse and Montauban shootings, is killed during his arrest.

April

• April 22 – François Hollande and incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy are selected as second round competitors in the 2012 French presidential election.

May

• May 6 – François Hollande is elected as the new president of France.
• May 15 – François Hollande is sworn in as president of France; he will serve only one term.
• May 27 – June 11 – 2012 French Open is held.

June

• June 30 – July 22 – 2012 Tour de France is held.

July

• July 13 – A private jet crash in southern France, causing the death of 3 people.^[6]
• July 16 – Commission on renewal and ethics in public life is formed by François Hollande on.^[7]

December

Deaths

• 1 January  - Marcelle Narbonne, 113, supercentenarian, oldest European living person
• 5 January  - François-Marie Algoud, 91, royalist and author
• 7 January  - Henri Puppo, 98, cyclist
• 8 January  - Françoise Christophe, 88, actress
• 9 January  - Christian-Joseph Guyonvarc'h, 85, philologist
• 11 January  - Gilles Jacquier, 43, journalist
• 14 January
  • Mila Parély, 94, actress
  • Rosy Varte, 88, actress
• 16 January  - Pierre Goubert, 96, historian
• 22 January  - André Green, 84, psychoanalyst
• 14 February  - Henri-Germain Delauze, 82, engineer and diver, founder of COMEX
• 15 February  - Jacques Duby, 89, actor
• 22 February  - Rémi Ochlik, 28, photographer
• 25 February  - Maurice André, 78, trumpeter (born 1933)
• 28 March  - Eduard Steinberg, 75, painter (born 1937)
• 3 June – Jean-Louis Richard, 85, French film director^[8]
• 29 July  - Chris Marker, 91, artist (born 1921)

Notes and References

1. News: Syria: French journalist killed in Homs. The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. London. Henry. Samuel. 11 January 2012. 5 February 2014.
2. News: France loses AAA rating as euro governments downgraded. BBC News. BBC. 13 January 2012. 5 February 2014.
3. News: Armenian genocide denial to be banned in France as senators approve new law. The Guardian. London. Kim. Willsher. 23 January 2012. 5 February 2014.
4. News: 'Mademoiselle' Exits Official France. The New York Times. Scott. Sayare. 22 February 2012. 5 February 2014.
5. News: French genocide law 'unconstitutional' rules court. France24. 28 February 2012. 5 February 2014.
6. Web site: 2012-07-13 . Official: 3 Americans die as private jet crashes in France . 2024-06-04 . CNN . en.
7. Web site: Décret n° 2012-875 du 16 juillet 2012 portant création d'une commission de rénovation et de déontologie de la vie publique . fr . Decree No. 2012-875 of 16 July 2012 establishing a commission renewal and ethics in public life . LegiFrance . 12 November 2014.
8. Web site: RICHARD Jean-Louis . 15 June 2012 . Les gens du cinéma . fr.