2005 in France

Incumbents

• President: Jacques Chirac
• Prime Minister: Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Dominique de Villepin

  Events

• 5 January – Libération journalist Florence Aubenas and her Iraqi guide Hussein Hanoun Al-Saadi are taken hostage in Iraq.
• 11 February – André Vingt-Trois is named Archbishop of Paris.
• 23 February – A controversial French law on colonialism, requiring teachers to paint it in a positive light, is passed by the national legislature.
• 25 February – Resignation of Minister of Finance Hervé Gaymard, following a scandal over the low rent of the exclusive apartment he occupied.
• March – The Renault Laguna gets facelifted.
• 31 March – An amendment to the 35-hour workweek law is voted, extending possibilities of overtime.
• April – The Fillon law reforming France's education system is voted, amidst student protests numbering hundreds of thousands.
• 6 April – First mental 13th root calculation of a 200-digit number, computed by Alexis Lemaire.
• 15 April – 2005 Paris fires - 24 people are killed and around 50 are injured in a fire at a hotel in central Paris.
• 27 April – First flight of Airbus A380 in Toulouse.
• 28 April – Sales begin of the Peugeot 1007 mini MPV.
• 16 May – Pentecost Monday ceases to be a statutory holiday, leading to strong protests.
• 19 May – Vélo'v bicycle-sharing system introduced in Lyon.
• 29 May – French referendum on the European Constitution votes resoundingly to reject it.
• 31 May – A new government, headed by Dominique de Villepin, is nominated.
• June – The Peugeot 307 gets facelifted.
• 28 June – Official announcement that ITER will be built in Cadarache, Southern France.
• 5 July – Laurence Parisot becomes the president of the Mouvement des Entreprises de France.
• 2 August – Air France Flight 358 bursts into flames after skidding off the end of runway in Toronto, all passengers survive.
• 11 August – Ariane 5GS launches Thaïcom-4/iPStar-1, the heaviest telecommunications satellite to date at 6505 kg, into orbit.
• 16 August – West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes in Venezuela, killing 160, mostly French citizens from Martinique.
• 16 August – Assassination of Frère Roger, founder of the Taizé community.
• September – New Renault Clio is launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
• 3 September – Jacques Chirac is hospitalized for a "small vascular incident" affecting his eyesight.
• 27 October – 2005 civil unrest in France begins, and will last until 17 November.
• November – The Renault Clio is voted European Car of the Year.
• 8 November – President Jacques Chirac declares a state of emergency on the 12th day of the French civil unrest.
• 16 November – Ariane 5 launches Spaceway-F2 and Telkom-2, the rocket's heaviest dual payload to date, at more than 8000 kg.
• 18 November – Partial privatization of Électricité de France.
• 27 November – Surgeons in France carry out the first human face transplant on Isabelle Dinoire.

  Births

Full date unknown

• Bébé Lilly, animated baby girl singer

  Deaths

January to March

• 3 January – Claude Meillassoux, economic anthropologist and Africanist.
• 5 January – René Le Hénaff, film editor and director.
• 7 January – Pierre Daninos, writer and humorist.
• 8 January – Jacqueline Joubert, television presenter.
• 8 January – Michel Thomas, linguist, language teacher and decorated war veteran.
• 10 January – Georges Bernier, also known as Le Professeur Choron, humorist.
• 11 January – Fernand Cazenave, international rugby union player and coach.
• 15 January – Michel Moine, journalist and parapsychologist.
• 27 January – Aurélie Nemours, painter.
• 28 January
• *Jacques Villeret, actor.
• *Karen Lancaume, adult film star.
• February – Madeleine Giteau, historian.
• 6 February – Hubert Curien, physicist.
• 7 February
• *Madeleine Rebérioux, historian.
• *Paul Rebeyrolle, painter.
• 10 February
• *Humbert Balsan, film producer.
• *Jean Cayrol, poet and publisher.
• 11 February – Raymond Hermantier, actor.
• 13 February – Maurice Trintignant, motor racing driver.
• 15 February – Pierre Bachelet, singer songwriter.
• 22 February – Simone Simon, actress.
• 25 February – Jean Prat, international rugby player.
• 1 March – Edouard Stern, banker.
• 15 March – Jean-Pierre Genet, cyclist.

  April to June

• 8 April – Maurice Lafont, international soccer player.
• 11 April
• *André François, cartoonist.
• *Lucien Laurent, international soccer player, scored the first ever World Cup goal.
• 3 May – Pierre Moerlen, drummer and percussionist.
• 5 May – Claude Julien, journalist and editor.
• 13 May – Eddie Barclay, music producer.
• 20 May – Paul Ricœur, philosopher.
• 29 June – François-Xavier Verschave, one of founders of the NGO Survie.

  July to September

• 2 July – Pierre Michelot, double bass player.
• 6 July – Claude Simon, novelist, 1985 Nobel Laureate in Literature.
• 8 July – Laurent-Michel Vacher, philosopher, writer and journalist.
• 19 July
• *Alain Bombard, biologist, physician, politician and sailor.
• *Jean-Michel Gaillard, politician.
• 26 July – Pierre Broué, historian and Trotskyist.
• 28 July – Jacques Lacarrière, ice hockey player.
• 3 August – Françoise d'Eaubonne, feminist writer.
• 7 August – Paul Arnaud de Foïard, General.
• 9 August
• *Colette Besson, Olympic athlete.
• *François Dalle, businessman
• 16 August – Frère Roger, founder of the Taizé community.
• 22 August
• *Henri Genès, actor and singer.
• *Luc Ferrari, composer.
• 25 August – Jacques Dufilho, actor.
• 31 August
• *Stéphane Bruey, international soccer player.
• *André Debry, one of the last surviving French veterans of World War I.
• 9 September – André Pousse, actor.
• 17 September – Jacques Lacarrière, writer, critic, journalist, and essayist.
• 24 September – André Testut, motor racing driver.

  October to December

• 5 October – Alexis Tendil, World War I veteran.
• 17 October – Jean Lescure, poet.
• 25 October – Arman, artist.
• 27 October
• *Jean-Claude Irvoas, murder victim.
• *Rene Moreau, World War I veteran.
• 28 October – Raymond Hains, artist and photographer.
• 7 November – Jean-Jacques Le Chenadec, urban violence victim.
• 9 November
• *Jean Catoire, composer.
• *Marceau Somerlinck, soccer player.
• November – Dominique Chaboche, politician and MEP.
• 4 December – Gloria Lasso, singer.
• 17 December – Jacques Fouroux, international rugby union player, coach.

  Full date unknown

• Ernestine Chassebœuf, letter writer.

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