Events from the year 1915 in France.
Incumbents President: Raymond Poincaré President of the Council of Ministers: René Viviani (until 29 October), Aristide Briand (starting 29 October)
Events 19 January – Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising. 27 January – French military casualties begin arriving at the Hôpital Temporaire d'Arc-en-Barrois, established earlier in the month by British volunteers. 2 April – Croix de guerre instituted as a military decoration. 18 April – Roland Garros lands his aircraft behind enemy lines and is taken prisoner. 9 May – Second Battle of Artois starts. 15 May – Second Battle of Artois ends in stalemate. July – Adrian helmet first issued to the French Army. 10 September – Satirical weekly newspaper Le Canard enchaîné first published. 15 September – Third Battle of Artois begins. 25 September Battle of Loos begins, a major British offensive on the Western Front; first British use of poison gas during World War I. Second Battle of Champagne begins. 28 September – Battle of Loos ends with British retreat. 16 October – France declares war on Bulgaria. 4 November – Third Battle of Artois ends. 6 November – Second Battle of Champagne ends.
Births January to March 13 January – Antoine Guillaumont, archaeologist and Syriac scholar (died 2000) 14 January – André Frossard, journalist and essayist (died 1995) 31 January – Henri Dobert, mechanical or electrician worker, World War II resistant (died 1943) 18 February – Marcel Landowski, composer, biographer and arts administrator (died 1999) 1 March – Gustave Choquet, mathematician (died 2006) 7 March – Jacques Chaban-Delmas, Gaullist politician and Prime Minister (died 2000) 24 March – Eugène Martin, motor racing driver (died 2006)
April to June 2 April – Jean Sauvagnargues, politician and Minister (died 2002) 3 April – Paul Touvier, convicted of crime against humanity for collaborationism in Vichy France (died 1996) 20 April – Émile Muller, politician (died 1988) 6 May – Achille Zavatta, clown and circus operator (died 1993) 12 May – Frère Roger, founder of the Taizé community (died 2005) 21 June – Jean Bastien, soccer player (died 1969)
July to December 31 July – Henri Decaë, cinematographer (died 1987) 19 August – Alphonse Antoine, cyclist (died 1999) 22 October – Jules Bigot, soccer player and manager (died 2007) 22 October – Jean Despeaux, boxer, Olympic gold-medallist (died 1989) 9 November – André François, cartoonist (died 2005) 12 November – Roland Barthes, literary critic and philosopher (died 1980) 17 November Michel Arnaud, general (died 1990) Albert Malbois, Roman Catholic prelate (died 2017) November – Jean Neuberth, abstract painter (died 1966) 17 December – André Claveau, singer (died 2003) 19 December – Édith Piaf, singer (died 1963)
Deaths 8 April – Louis Pergaud, novelist (killed in action) (born 1882) 10 May – Gaston Cros, army officer and archaeologist (killed in action) (born 1861) 5 June – Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, painter and sculptor (killed in action) (born 1891) 25 July – Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, socialite, model for Portrait of Madame X (born 1859) 31 August – Adolphe Pégoud, French acrobatic pilot, World War I fighter ace (killed in action) (born 1889) 15 September – Alfred Agache, painter (born 1843) 31 August – Adolphe Pégoud, acrobatic pilot, World War I fighter ace (killed in action) (born 1889) 11 October – Jean Henri Fabre, entomologist (born 1823) 25 November – Michel Bréal, philologist (born 1832)
See also List of French films of 1915
References