1999 in France

Events

1 January - the euro currency is introduced for digital transactions in the European Union (EU) Eurozone member countries.
3 March – ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty by the French National Assembly.
17 March – ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty by the Senate.
24 March – Mont Blanc Tunnel fire: A fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel kills 39 people, closing the tunnel for nearly three years.
13 June – European Parliament election in France.
11 August – a total solar eclipse occurs in the north of France.
September – The Peugeot 607 is launched to replace the unsuccessful decade-old 605.
13 October – Pacte civil de solidarité (a type of civil union) adopted by French Parliament.
12 December – a ship, Erika, breaks up near Penmarc'h spilling 37 000 tons of fuel, causing an oil slick on the Breton, Vendean and Charentaise coasts. Loire-Atlantique is particularly affected.
26 and 28 December – Storms Lothar and Martin cause heavy damage with winds reaching 180 km/h. The total damage includes more than 90 dead, 6 billion euros paid by the insurers and 10,000 km² of forest devastated.
29 December – English woman Evelyn Wilkinson-Lund is reported missing from her home in Rayssac.^[1]
Full date unknown – Certificat d'aptitude à l'enseignement aéronautique, a national degree for aeronautics and space knowledge, is introduced.^[2]

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Deaths

9 June – Maurice Journeau, composer (b. 1898).
19 June – Henri, comte de Paris, Orléanist claimant to the French throne (b. 1908).
28 June – Louis Ducatel, politician and businessman (b. 1902).
30 June – Edouard Boubat, photographer (b. 1923).

16 July – André Martinet, linguist (b. 1908).
30 July – Hermann Panzo, athlete (b. 1958).
22 August – Yann Goulet, sculptor, Breton nationalist and war-time Nazi collaborationist (b. 1914).
30 August – Raymond Poïvet, cartoonist (b. 1910).
14 September – Jehan Buhan, fencer (b. 1912).
15 September – Michel Pinseau, architect (b. 1924).
4 October – Bernard Buffet, painter (b. 1928).
27 October – Charlotte Perriand, architect and designer (b. 1903).

3 November – Alan Heusaff, Breton nationalist and linguist (b. 1921).
9 November – Claude Ballot-Léna, motor racing driver (b. 1936).
11 November – Alphonse Antoine, cyclist (b. 1915).
13 November – Germaine Dieterlen, anthropologist (b. 1903).
21 November – Serge Lang, journalist, alpine skier, and founder of the alpine skiing World Cup (b. 1920).
25 November – Pierre Bézier, engineer (b. 1910).
27 November – Alain Peyrefitte, scholar and politician (b. 1925).

6 December – Paul Bacon, politician (b. 1907).
18 December – Robert Bresson, film director (b. 1901).
23 December – Marcel Landowski, composer, biographer and arts administrator (b. 1915).
24 December – Maurice Couve de Murville, politician and Prime Minister (b. 1907).
28 December – Pierre Clémenti, actor (b. 1942).
28 December – Louis Féraud, fashion designer and artist (b. 1921).

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Incumbents