1951 in France
# 1951 in France

Events from the year 1951 in France.

## Incumbents

* President: Vincent Auriol
* President of the Council of Ministers:
   * until 10 March: René Pleven
   * 10 March-11 August: Henri Queuille
   * starting 11 August: René Pleven

## Events

* 13 January – Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins in Vietnam.
* 17 January – Battle of Vĩnh Yên ends in decisive defeat for the Việt Minh forces.
* 23 March – Battle of Mạo Khê begins.
* 28 March – Battle of Mạo Khê ends in the defeat of Việt Minh forces.
* April – Magazine Cahiers du cinéma is first published.
* 18 April – Treaty of Paris adopted, establishing European Coal and Steel Community.
* 17 June – Legislative Election is held to elect the second National Assembly of the Fourth Republic.
* 11 August – René Pleven becomes Prime Minister of France.
* 10 November – Battle of Hòa Bình begins.
* December – Engagements in the Battle of Hòa Bình continue.

## Sport

* The 1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand is conducted.
* 4 July – Tour de France begins.
* 29 July – Tour de France ends, won by Hugo Koblet of Switzerland.

## Births

* 10 January – Nicolas Philibert, film director and actor
* 13 January – Bernard Loiseau, chef (died 2003)
* 6 February – Jacques Villeret, actor (died 2005)
* 11 October – Jean-Jacques Goldman, singer and songwriter
* 6 November – Alain Etchegoyen, philosopher and novelist (died 2007)

## Deaths

* 7 January
   * René Guénon, orientalist and philosopher (born 1886)
   * Lucien Cuénot, biologist (born 1866)
* 26 January – Henri Bard, international soccer player (born 1892)
* 19 February – André Gide, author and winner of Nobel Prize in literature in 1947 (born 1869)
* 2 June – Émile Chartier, philosopher, journalist and pacifist (born 1868)
* 21 June – Gustave Sandras, artistic gymnast (born 1872)
* 23 July – Philippe Pétain, Marshal of France, later Chief of State of Vichy France (born 1856)
* 11 November – César Vezzani, opera singer (born 1888)
