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)