Events from the year 1960 in France.
Incumbents President: Charles de Gaulle Prime Minister: Michel Debré
Events 6 January – Manifesto of the 121 is published. 22 January – President Charles de Gaulle fires General Jacques Massu from Algeria following an interview in a German newspaper where he stated that the army may have made a mistake in returning him to power. 24 January – A major insurrection occurs in Algiers against French colonial policy. 13 February – France tests its first atomic bomb in the Sahara. 23 March – Nikita Khrushchev meets Charles De Gaulle in Paris. 12 April – Eric Peugeot, youngest son of the founder of Peugeot, is kidnapped in Paris. Kidnappers release him 15 April in exchange for $300,000 ransom. 27 April – Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship. 11 May – The SS France is launched for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire by Yvonne de Gaulle. 3 June – The first Carrefour store opens in Annecy. 20 June – The Mali Federation between Senegal and Sudanese Republic (now Mali) gains independence from France. 5 August – Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) declares independence from France. 17 August – Gabon gains independence from France. 28 November – Mauritania becomes independent of France. 5 December – Pierre Lagaillarde, who led 1958 and 1960 insurrections in Algeria, fails to appear in a Paris court. He has reportedly fled with his four fellow defendants to Spain, en route to Algeria. 9 December – President Charles de Gaulle's visit to Algeria is marked by bloody riots by European and Muslim mobs in Algeria's largest cities, killing 127 people. 14 December – The OECD is formed in Paris. 27 December – France sets off its third nuclear test blast at its atomic proving grounds at Reggane, Algeria.
Arts and literature 25 March – Tom Pillibi by Jacqueline Boyer (music by André Popp, text by Pierre Cour) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 for France. 10 November – Édith Piaf's recording of "Non, je ne regrette rien" is released.
Sport 26 June – Tour de France begins. 17 July – Tour de France ends, won by Gastone Nencini of Italy.
Births 2 January - Dominique Bailly, politician 23 January – Patrick de Gayardon, skydiver, skysurfer and BASE jumper (died 1998) 18 March – Jean-Pierre Bade, soccer player 18 May – Yannick Noah, tennis player and musician 15 June – Patrick Edlinger, rock climber (died 2012) 8 July – Yann LeCun, computer scientist 12 July – Corynne Charby, actress, singer and model 24 July – Catherine Destivelle, rock climber and mountaineer
Deaths 4 January – Albert Camus, author, philosopher, and journalist who won the Nobel Prize in 1957 (born 1913) 12 February – Jean-Michel Atlan, painter (born 1913) 13 March – Louis Wagner, motor racing driver (born 1882) 1 April – Madeleine Rolland, translator and peace activist (born 1872) 23 May – Georges Claude, engineer, chemist and inventor (born 1870) 14 July – Maurice, 6th duc de Broglie, physicist (born 1875)
See also 1960 in French television List of French films of 1960
References