1974 in France

Events from the year 1974 in France.

Incumbents

 * President:
 * until 2 April: Georges Pompidou
 * 2 April-27 May: Alain Poher
 * starting 27 May: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
 * Prime Minister: Pierre Messmer (until 27 May), Jacques Chirac (starting 27 May)

Events

 * 1 March – Pierre Messmer finishes his first term as Prime Minister of France.
 * 3 March – Turkish Airlines Flight 981 a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes into the Ermenville Forest just outside Senlis killing all 346 on board.
 * 8 March – Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris.
 * 2 April – President Georges Pompidou dies in office. Senate President Alain Poher becomes Acting President for the second time.
 * 7 August – French acrobat Philippe Petit walks across a high wire slung between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
 * 28 August – The Citroen CX, top model in the Citroen range, is launched – succeeding the 19-year-old DS. It is voted European Car of the Year.
 * 12 September – The crew of the SS France (1961) take over the ship off Le Havre in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent her withdrawal; she never sails under the French flag again.
 * 9 December – The Paris summit, reuniting the European communities' heads of state and government, commences.

Sport

 * 27 June – Tour de France begins.
 * 21 July – Tour de France ends, won by Eddy Merckx of Belgium.

January to March

 * 6 January – Romain Sardou, novelist.
 * 13 January – Thierry Debès, soccer player.
 * 16 January – Frédéric Dindeleux, soccer player.
 * 20 January – Florian Maurice, soccer player.
 * 21 January – Ulrich Le Pen, soccer player.
 * 23 January – Bernard Diomède, soccer player.
 * 3 February – Florian Rousseau, cyclist and Olympic gold medallist.
 * 6 February – Sébastien Delagrange, golfer.
 * 8 February – Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, musician.
 * 10 February – Lionel Potillon, soccer player.
 * 11 February – Sébastien Hinault, cyclist.
 * February 13 – The Roc'h Trédudon attack, in Brittany.
 * 17 February – Frédéric Bolley, twice motocross world champion.
 * 20 February – Ophélie Winter, singer and actress.
 * 23 February – Stéphane Bernadis, figure skater.
 * 26 February – Sébastien Loeb, rally driver and three time World Champion.
 * 17 March – Franck Bouyer, cyclist.
 * 21 March – Sébastien Gimenez, soccer player.
 * 31 March – Patrick Regnault, soccer player.

April to June

 * 1 April – Cyril Raffaelli, traceur, martial artist and stuntman.
 * 7 April – Julien Boutter, tennis player.
 * 11 April – Franck Rénier, cyclist.
 * 18 April – Olivier Besancenot, politician.
 * 29 April – Pascal Cygan, soccer player.
 * 8 May – Raphaël Jacquelin, golfer.
 * 9 May – Benoît Salmon, cyclist.
 * 10 May – Sylvain Wiltord, international soccer player.
 * 11 May – Benoît Magimel, actor.
 * 14 May – Pierre-Yves André, soccer player.
 * 24 May – Florence Baverel-Robert, biathlete.
 * 28 May – Romain Duris, actor.
 * 1 June – Jérôme Vareille, soccer player.
 * 10 June – Christophe Bassons, cyclist.
 * 13 June
 * Frédéric Bourdin, serial imposter.
 * Claire-Marie Le Guay, classical pianist.

July to September

 * 7 July – Doc Gynéco, hip hop artist.
 * 10 July – Nassim Akrour, soccer player.
 * 13 July – Ronan Le Crom, soccer player.
 * 21 July – Frédéric Biancalani, soccer player.
 * 22 July - Pierrick Boyer, pastry chef.
 * 4 August
 * Jean-Christophe Rouvière, soccer player.
 * Thierry Thulliez, jockey.
 * 5 August – Antoine Sibierski, soccer player.
 * 7 August – Yohann Bernard, swimmer.
 * 9 August – Raphaël Poirée, biathlete.
 * 11 August – Audrey Mestre, free-diver (died 2002).
 * 26 August – Sébastien Bruno, rugby union player.
 * 3 September – Didier André, motor racing driver.
 * 4 September – Jean-Pierre Simb, soccer player.
 * 12 September – Caroline Aigle, first woman fighter pilot in the French Air Force (died 2007).
 * 16 September – Frédéric Da Rocha, soccer player.
 * 25 September – Olivier Dacourt, soccer player.
 * 28 September – Frédéric Danjou, soccer player.
 * September – Justine Lévy, author.

October to December

 * 7 October – Hervé Alicarte, soccer player.
 * 19 October – Laurent Brancowitz, guitarist.
 * 21 October – Olivier Azam, rugby union player.
 * 1 November – Renan Lavigne, squash player.
 * 4 November – Jérôme Leroy, soccer player.
 * 11 November – Bettina Goislard, United Nations worker (died 2003).
 * 20 November – Alain Andji, pole vaulter.
 * 27 November – Yann Le Pennec, slalom canoer.
 * 28 November – Pascal Bedrossian, soccer player.
 * 29 November – Cyril Dessel, cyclist.
 * 30 November – Arnaud Vincent, motorcycle road racer.
 * 6 December
 * Stéphane Augé, cyclist.
 * Delphine Combe, athlete.
 * 9 December – Emmanuel Thibault, dancer.
 * 11 December – Julien Robert, biathlete.
 * 13 December – Richard Dourthe, rugby union player.
 * 17 December – Yannick Fischer, soccer player.
 * 22 December – Éric Despezelle, judoka.

Full date unknown

 * Thierry Bernard-Gotteland, French artist.
 * Amelie Chabannes, painter and sculptor.
 * Stéphane Michon, nordic combined skier.

January to June

 * 21 January – Arnaud Denjoy, mathematician (born 1884).
 * 30 January – Fernand Arnout, weightlifter and Olympic medallist (born 1899).
 * 13 March – Henri Pequet, pilot, flew first official airmail flight in 1911 (born 1888).
 * 28 March – Françoise Rosay, actress (born 1891).
 * 2 April – Georges Pompidou, President of France (born 1911).
 * 9 April – Pierre Petiteau, rugby union player (born 1899).
 * 18 April – Marcel Pagnol, novelist, playwright, and filmmaker (born 1895).
 * 20 May – Jean Daniélou, theologian and historian (born 1905).
 * 25 May – Robert Levasseur, rugby union player (born 1898).
 * 7 June – Émilie Charmy, artist (born 1878).
 * 12 June – André Marie, politician and Prime Minister of France (born 1897).
 * 17 June – Pauline Carton, actress (born 1884).
 * 19 June – Jean Wahl, philosopher (born 1888).
 * 22 June
 * Darius Milhaud, composer (born 1892).
 * Alain Saint-Ogan, comics author and artist (born 1895).
 * Gaston Thubé, sailor and Olympic gold medallist (born 1876).

July to December

 * 4 July – André Randall, actor (born 1892).
 * 9 July – Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, writer and artist (born 1884).
 * August – André Edouard Marty, artist (born 1882).
 * 4 September – Marcel Achard, playwright, screenwriter and author (born 1899).
 * 17 September – André Dunoyer de Segonzac, painter and graphic artist (born 1884).
 * 17 October – Jean Vaysse, rugby union player (born 1900).
 * 27 October – Paul Frankeur, actor (born 1905).
 * 22 November – Gilbert Degrémont, water treatment expert (born 1908).
 * 20 December – André Jolivet, composer (born 1905).
 * 21 December – Félix Amiot, aircraft constructor (born 1894).
 * 26 December – Armand Marcelle, rower and Olympic medallist (born 1905).

Full date unknown

 * Michel Alaux, fencing master and Olympic gold medallist (born 1924).
 * Roger Giroux, poet (born 1925).
 * René de Possel, mathematician (born 1905).