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1968 in France

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1968
in
France
Decades:
See also:Other events of 1968
History of France  • Timeline  • Years

Events from the year 1968 in France were categorized by protests and general unrest across the country as part of the many protests of 1968 that occurred across the globe in that year.

Incumbents

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Events

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  • 27 January – French submarine sinks in the Mediterranean with 52 men on board.
  • 9 March – A Douglas DC-6B (43748) of L'Armée de L'Air flies into a hill on Reunion, killing 16 of the 17 occupants. The plane, which was headed from Saint-Denis to Djibouti, crashed due to an incorrect takeoff procedure causing it to fly inland instead out of towards the ocean. Among the passengers was General Ailleret, the chief of defence staff. This crash is the deadliest to occur on Reunion.[1]
  • 22 March – Daniel Cohn-Bendit and seven other students occupy Administrative offices of the University of Nanterre, setting in motion a chain of events that will lead France to the brink of revolution in May.
  • 23 April – surgeons at the Hôpital de la Pitié, Paris, perform Europe's first heart transplant operation.
  • May – student strike in May and June developed into widespread and unprecedented protests over poor working conditions and a rigid educational system, which threatened to bring down the government.
  • 30 May – Georges Pompidou is returned as Prime Minister following general election, but – largely due to the widespread protests of May and June, it lasts for a mere 42 days before president Charles de Gaulle dismisses him and calls a new election.
  • 23 June – Legislative Election held.
  • 30 June – Legislative Election held.
  • 10 July – In the second election, Maurice Couve de Murville is elected as Prime Minister.
  • 24 August – France explodes its first hydrogen bomb, thus becoming the world's fifth nuclear power.
  • 11 September – Air France Flight 1611 crashed into the Mediterranean off Nice, killing all 95 on board.
  • 12 September – Launch of the Peugeot 504, successor the 404, available as a four-door five-seater saloon or five-door seven-seater estate, both with rear-wheel drive.[2]
  • The island of Moruroa (then known as Mururoa) in French Polynesia was used for French nuclear tests twice during the year (in August and September) leading to widespread protest from other Pacific nations.
  • René Cassin wins the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Arts and literature

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  • Singer Dalida releases the singles "Le Temps des Fleurs", "Je m'endors dans tes bras", and "Si j'avais des millions".

Sport

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Births

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January to March

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April to June

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July to September

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October to December

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Full date unknown

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Deaths

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January to March

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April to June

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July to September

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October to December

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Full date unknown

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-6B 43748 Saint Denis". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Peugeot 504 Prototypes". Garage24.net. 12 September 1968. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  3. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  4. ^ Randel, Don Michael (1996). The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-67437-299-3.