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, Jacques Chirac

  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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 9 July - Foulques, duc d'Aumale, comte d'Eu, Prince de France.
• 10 July - Nassim Akrour, soccer player.
• 13 July - Ronan Le Crom, soccer player.
• 21 July - Frédéric Biancalani, soccer player.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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

• Amelie Chabannes, painter and sculptor.
• Stéphane Michon, nordic combined skier.

  Deaths

January to June

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

  July to December

• 9 July - Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, writer and artist.
• August - André Edouard Marty, artist.
• 4 September - Marcel Achard, playwright, screenwriter and author.
• 17 September - André Dunoyer de Segonzac, painter and graphic artist.
• 17 October - Jean Vaysse, rugby union player.
• 22 November - Gilbert Degrémont, water treatment expert.
• 20 December - André Jolivet, composer.
• 21 December - Félix Amiot, aircraft constructor.
• 26 December - Armand Marcelle, rower and Olympic medallist.

  Full date unknown

• Michel Alaux, fencing master and Olympic gold medallist.
• Roger Giroux, poet.
• René de Possel, mathematician.