1991 in France

Incumbents

• President: François Mitterrand
• Prime Minister: Michel Rocard, Édith Cresson

  Events

• 16 March – Official launch of the Citroen ZX. It partly replaces the larger BX, which will be completely replaced within the next two years by a larger model.
• 15 May – Édith Cresson becomes France's first female premier.
• 29 May – Olympique Marseille lose the European Cup final to Yugoslav champions Red Star Belgrade on penalties after a 0–0 draw in Bari, Italy.
• 5 September – Peugeot launches the all-new 106 supermini, designed as a marginally smaller alternative to the eight-year-old 205, which is expected to be phased out after the launch of a larger Peugeot which will replace the 309 in early 1993.
• Pommeau is granted its Appellation d'origine contrôlée.

  Arts and literature

Sport

• 6 July – Tour de France begins.
• 7 July – French Grand Prix is won by Nigel Mansell of the United Kingdom.
• 28 July – Tour de France ends, won by Miguel Indurain of Spain.

  Births

• 3 January – Sébastien Faure, footballer
• 9 February – Alexandre Briancon, figure skater
• 10 February – Romain Wattel, golfer
• 28 May
• *Jonathan Ligali, soccer player
• *Alexandre Lacazette, soccer player
• 1 July – Kev Adams, comedian, actor, humorist, screenwriter and film producer
• 6 July – Victoirre Thivisol, actress.
• 16 July - Valentin Lavillenie, pole vaulter.
• 7 August - Lénora Guion-Firmin, sprinter
• 30 August – Gaia Weiss, model and actress.

  Deaths

January to March

• 7 January – Henri Louveau, motor racing driver.
• 24 February – Georges Capdeville, soccer referee.
• 2 March – Serge Gainsbourg, poet, singer-songwriter, actor and director.
• 12 March – Étienne Decroux, actor and mime.
• 25 March – Marcel Lefebvre, Roman Catholic archbishop.
• 29 March – Guy Bourdin, photographer.
• 30 March – Silvia Monfort, actress and theatre director.

  April to June

• 3 April – Robert Veyron-Lacroix, harpsichordist and pianist.
• 6 April – Louis Joxe, statesman and Minister.
• 26 April – Leo Arnaud, composer of film scores.
• 30 April – André Badonnel, entomologist.
• 30 April – Ghislaine Marie Françoise Dommanget, actress and Princess of Monaco.
• 8 May – Jean Langlais, composer and organist.
• 20 May – Michel Gauquelin, psychologist and statistician.
• 7 June – Antoine Blondin, writer.
• 10 June – Jean Bruller, writer and illustrator.
• 28 June – Jacques Corrèze, businessman and politician.
• 29 June – Henri Lefebvre, sociologist and philosopher.

  July to September

• 27 July – Pierre Brunet, figure skater.
• 29 July – Christian de Castries, military officer.
• 5 August – Gaston Litaize, organist and composer.
• 28 August – Pierre Guillaumat, politician and Minister.
• 4 September – Henri de Lubac, Jesuit priest and theologian.
• 5 September – Raymond Dronne, politician.
• 17 September – Zino Francescatti, violinist.
• 28 September – Eugène Bozza, composer.

  October to December

• 9 November – Yves Montand, actor and singer.
• 15 November – Jacques Morali, music producer.
• 18 November – Claude Cahen, orientalist.
• 26 November – François Billetdoux, playwright and novelist.
• 9 December – Gisèle Lestrange, graphic artist.
• 13 December – André Pieyre de Mandiargues, writer.
• 20 December – Gaston Waringhien, linguist, lexicographer and Esperantist.
• 27 December – Hervé Guibert, writer.

  Full date unknown

• Antoine Berman, translator and historian.
• Louis Henry, historian.