Construction of the canal began on January 1, 1881, with digging at Culebra beginning on January 22. A large labor force was assembled, numbering about 40,000 in 1888 (nine-tenths of whom were afro-Caribbean workers from the West Indies). Although the project attracted good, well-paid French engineers, retaining them was difficult due to disease. The death toll from 1881 to 1889 was estimated at over 22,000, of whom as many as 5,000 were French citizens.

When did the french start the panama canal? OK. Let's think. My stream of consciousness:
The relevant information to answer the above question is: Construction of the canal began on January 1, 1881, with digging at Culebra beginning on January 22. The answer is January 1 , 1881.