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

• 13 January – Bernard Loiseau, chef
• 6 February – Jacques Villeret, actor
• 11 October – Jean-Jacques Goldman, singer and songwriter
• 6 November – Alain Etchegoyen, philosopher and novelist

  Deaths

• 7 January – René Guénon, orientalist and philosopher
• 26 January – Henri Bard, international soccer player
• 19 February – André Gide, author and winner of Nobel Prize in literature in 1947
• 2 June – Émile Chartier, philosopher, journalist and pacifist
• 23 July – Philippe Pétain, Marshal of France, later Chief of State of Vichy France