# 1974 in France

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Events from the year 1974 in France.

## Incumbents

* President:
** until 2 April: Georges Pompidou
** 2 April-27 May: Alain Poher
** starting 27 May: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
* Prime Minister: Pierre Messmer (until 27 May), Jacques Chirac (starting 27 May)

## Events

* 1 March – Pierre Messmer finishes his first term as Prime Minister of France.
* 3 March – Turkish Airlines Flight 981 a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes into the Ermenville Forest just outside Senlis killing all 346 on board.
* 8 March – Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris.
* 2 April – President Georges Pompidou dies in office. Senate President Alain Poher becomes Acting President for the second time.
* 7 August – French acrobat Philippe Petit walks across a high wire slung between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
* 28 August – The Citroen CX, top model in the Citroen range, is launched – succeeding the 19-year-old DS. It is voted European Car of the Year.
* 12 September – The crew of the SS France (1961) take over the ship off Le Havre in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent her withdrawal; she never sails under the French flag again.
* 9 December – The Paris summit, reuniting the European communities' heads of state and government, commences.

## Sport

* 27 June – Tour de France begins.
* 21 July – Tour de France ends, won by Eddy Merckx of Belgium.

## Births
### January to March

* 6 January – Romain Sardou, novelist.
* 13 January – Thierry Debès, soccer player.
* 16 January – Frédéric Dindeleux, soccer player.
* 20 January – Florian Maurice, soccer player.
* 21 January – Ulrich Le Pen, soccer player.
* 23 January – Bernard Diomède, soccer player.
* 3 February – Florian Rousseau, cyclist and Olympic gold medallist.
* 6 February – Sébastien Delagrange, golfer.
* 8 February – Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, musician.
* 10 February – Lionel Potillon, soccer player.
* 11 February – Sébastien Hinault, cyclist.
* February 13 – The Roc'h Trédudon attack, in Brittany.
* 17 February – Frédéric Bolley, twice motocross world champion.
* 20 February – Ophélie Winter, singer and actress.
* 23 February – Stéphane Bernadis, figure skater.
* 26 February – Sébastien Loeb, rally driver and three time World Champion.
* 17 March – Franck Bouyer, cyclist.
* 21 March – Sébastien Gimenez, soccer player.
* 31 March – Patrick Regnault, soccer player.

### April to June

* 1 April – Cyril Raffaelli, traceur, martial artist and stuntman.
* 7 April – Julien Boutter, tennis player.
* 11 April – Franck Rénier, cyclist.
* 18 April – Olivier Besancenot, politician.
* 29 April – Pascal Cygan, soccer player.
* 8 May – Raphaël Jacquelin, golfer.
* 9 May – Benoît Salmon, cyclist.
* 10 May – Sylvain Wiltord, international soccer player.
* 11 May – Benoît Magimel, actor.
* 14 May – Pierre-Yves André, soccer player.
* 24 May – Florence Baverel-Robert, biathlete.
* 28 May – Romain Duris, actor.
* 1 June – Jérôme Vareille, soccer player.
* 10 June – Christophe Bassons, cyclist.
* 13 June
** Frédéric Bourdin, serial imposter.
** Claire-Marie Le Guay, classical pianist.

### July to September

* 7 July – Doc Gynéco, hip hop artist.
* 10 July – Nassim Akrour, soccer player.
* 13 July – Ronan Le Crom, soccer player.
* 21 July – Frédéric Biancalani, soccer player.
* 22 July - Pierrick Boyer, pastry chef.
* 4 August
** Jean-Christophe Rouvière, soccer player.
** Thierry Thulliez, jockey.
* 5 August – Antoine Sibierski, soccer player.
* 7 August – Yohann Bernard, swimmer.
* 9 August – Raphaël Poirée, biathlete.
* 11 August – Audrey Mestre, free-diver (died 2002).
* 26 August – Sébastien Bruno, rugby union player.
* 3 September – Didier André, motor racing driver.
* 4 September – Jean-Pierre Simb, soccer player.
* 12 September – Caroline Aigle, first woman fighter pilot in the French Air Force (died 2007).
* 16 September – Frédéric Da Rocha, soccer player.
* 25 September – Olivier Dacourt, soccer player.
* 28 September – Frédéric Danjou, soccer player.
* September – Justine Lévy, author.

### October to December

* 7 October – Hervé Alicarte, soccer player.
* 19 October – Laurent Brancowitz, guitarist.
* 21 October – Olivier Azam, rugby union player.
* 1 November – Renan Lavigne, squash player.
* 4 November – Jérôme Leroy, soccer player.
* 11 November – Bettina Goislard, United Nations worker (died 2003).
* 20 November – Alain Andji, pole vaulter.
* 27 November – Yann Le Pennec, slalom canoer.
* 28 November – Pascal Bedrossian, soccer player.
* 29 November – Cyril Dessel, cyclist.
* 30 November – Arnaud Vincent, motorcycle road racer.
* 6 December
** Stéphane Augé, cyclist.
** Delphine Combe, athlete.
* 9 December – Emmanuel Thibault, dancer.
* 11 December – Julien Robert, biathlete.
* 13 December – Richard Dourthe, rugby union player.
* 17 December – Yannick Fischer, soccer player.
* 22 December – Éric Despezelle, judoka.

### Full date unknown

* Thierry Bernard-Gotteland, French artist.
* Amelie Chabannes, painter and sculptor.
* Stéphane Michon, nordic combined skier.

## Deaths
### January to June

* 21 January – Arnaud Denjoy, mathematician (born 1884).
* 30 January – Fernand Arnout, weightlifter and Olympic medallist (born 1899).
* 13 March – Henri Pequet, pilot, flew first official airmail flight in 1911 (born 1888).
* 28 March – Françoise Rosay, actress (born 1891).
* 2 April – Georges Pompidou, President of France (born 1911).
* 9 April – Pierre Petiteau, rugby union player (born 1899).
* 18 April – Marcel Pagnol, novelist, playwright, and filmmaker (born 1895).
* 20 May – Jean Daniélou, theologian and historian (born 1905).
* 25 May – Robert Levasseur, rugby union player (born 1898).
* 7 June – Émilie Charmy, artist (born 1878).
* 12 June – André Marie, politician and Prime Minister of France (born 1897).
* 17 June – Pauline Carton, actress (born 1884).
* 19 June – Jean Wahl, philosopher (born 1888).
* 22 June
** Darius Milhaud, composer (born 1892).
** Alain Saint-Ogan, comics author and artist (born 1895).
** Gaston Thubé, sailor and Olympic gold medallist (born 1876).

### July to December

* 4 July – André Randall, actor (born 1892).
* 9 July – Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, writer and artist (born 1884).
* August – André Edouard Marty, artist (born 1882).
* 4 September – Marcel Achard, playwright, screenwriter and author (born 1899).
* 17 September – André Dunoyer de Segonzac, painter and graphic artist (born 1884).
* 17 October – Jean Vaysse, rugby union player (born 1900).
* 27 October – Paul Frankeur, actor (born 1905).
* 22 November – Gilbert Degrémont, water treatment expert (born 1908).
* 20 December – André Jolivet, composer (born 1905).
* 21 December – Félix Amiot, aircraft constructor (born 1894).
* 26 December – Armand Marcelle, rower and Olympic medallist (born 1905).

### Full date unknown

* Michel Alaux, fencing master and Olympic gold medallist (born 1924).
* Roger Giroux, poet (born 1925).
* René de Possel, mathematician (born 1905).