2006 in France

Incumbents

• President: Jacques Chirac
• Prime Minister: Dominique de Villepin

  Events

• 9 March – Sablé-sur-Sarthe hostage crisis: A former teacher takes 23 hostages including 21 students.
• April – France formally charges six defendants of the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp.
• July – France begins the trial against six defendants of the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp.
• 11 October – A train crash at Zoufftgen kills six people.
• 16 November – Franco–Italian–Spanish Middle East Peace Plan is announced.

  Births

Deaths

January

• 27 January – Jean-Christophe Lafaille, mountaineer.

  February

• 9 February – André Strappe, international soccer player.
• 12 February – Henri Guédon, percussionist.
• 13 February – Ilan Halimi, kidnap and murder victim.
• 14 February – Darry Cowl, musician and actor.

  March

• 9 March – Jean Leymarie, art historian.
• 10 March – Jean Hermil, Roman Catholic bishop of Viviers.
• 22 March – Pierre Clostermann, flying ace, author, engineer and politician.
• March – Jean Desclaux, rugby union coach.

  April

• 5 April – Alain de Boissieu, Army chief-of-staff.
• 17 April – Jean Bernard, physician and haematologist.
• 25 April – Roger Duchêne, biographer.
• 30 April – Jean-François Revel, politician, journalist, author and philosopher.

  May

• 1 May – Jean-Pierre Hubert, author.
• 9 May – Edouard Jaguer, poet and art critic.
• 23 May – Philippe Amaury, publishing tycoon and entrepreneur.
• 24 May – Claude Piéplu, actor.
• 26 May – Édouard Michelin, businessman.
• 26 May – Raymond Triboulet, resistance fighter and politician.
• 27 May – Michael Riffaterre, literary critic and theorist.
• 29 May – Johnny Servoz-Gavin, motor racing driver.

  June

• 5 June – André Mandouze, academic and journalist.
• 6 June – Léon Weil, World War I veteran.
• 11 June – Rolande Falcinelli, organist, pianist and composer.
• 15 June – Raymond Devos, humorist, comedian and clown.
• 19 June – René Renou, wine expert.
• 20 June – Raymond Daudel, theoretical and quantum chemist.
• 21 June – Jacques Lanzmann, writer, scriptwriter and lyric writer.

  July

• 3 July – Francis Cammaerts, Special Operations Executive agent.
• 8 July – Catherine Leroy, photojournalist and photographer.
• 20 July – Charles Bettelheim, economist and historian.
• 20 July – Gérard Oury, actor, writer and producer.
• 29 July – Pierre Vidal-Naquet, historian.

  August

• 2 August – Maurice Kriegel-Valrimont, militant communist, resistance fighter and politician.
• 10 August – Olivier Lecerf, businessman and racehorse owner.
• 17 August – Bernard Rapp, film director and television news presenter.
• 26 August – François Lamoureux, European civil servant.
• 26 August – Marie-Dominique Philippe, Dominican philosopher and theologian.

  September

• 3 September – Françoise Claustre, archaeologist,.
• 9 September – Gérard Brach, film director and screen writer.
• 11 September – Solange Fernex, pacifist activist and politician.
• 20 September – Henri Jayer, vintner.
• 30 September – André Schwarz-Bart, novelist.

  October

• 6 October – Claude Luter, jazz clarinetist.
• 9 October – Coccinelle, transsexual actress and entertainer.
• 9 October – Danièle Huillet, filmmaker.
• 12 October – Eugène Martin, motor racing driver.
• 17 October – Daniel Emilfork, actor.
• 28 October – Tina Aumont, actress.

  November

• 2 November – Adrien Douady, mathematician.
• 3 November – Paul Mauriat, musical director.
• 7 November – Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, journalist and politician.
• 10 November – Maurice Floquet, France's oldest man on record.
• 11 November – Anicée Alvina, singer and actress.
• 12 November – Alphonse Halimi, boxer.
• 14 November – Gustave Choquet, mathematician.
• 14 November – Bertrand Poirot-Delpech, journalist, essayist and novelist.
• 23 November – Philippe Noiret, actor.

  December

• 1 December – Claude Jade, actress.
• 27 December – Pierre Delanoë, songwriter/lyricist.

  Full date unknown

• Janine Chasseguet-Smirgel, psychoanalyst.