2014 in France

← 2013 2012 2011 2014 in France → 2015 2016 2017
Decades:	1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	Other events of 2014 Timeline of French history

Events from the year 2014 in France.

Incumbents

• President – François Hollande (Socialist)
• Prime Minister – Jean-Marc Ayrault (Socialist) (until March 31), Manuel Valls (Socialist) (starting April 1)

Events

January

• 6 January – Workers at a Goodyear tyre factory in Amiens hold two executives hostage after it was announced that Goodyear was to close the plant with a loss of more than 1,000 jobs. The executives are released the following afternoon.^[1]
• 10 January –
  • Closer magazine runs a story alleging that François Hollande is having an affair with actress Julie Gayet. In a statement, Hollande says he "deeply deplores the attacks on the principle of respect for privacy, to which he, like every citizen, has a right". The story is later removed from the magazine's website.^[2]
  • François Hollande's partner, Valérie Trierweiler, is admitted to hospital for "rest and a few tests" following the affair allegations.^[3] She remains hospitalised until 18 January.^[4]
• 16 January – A protestor calling for a political upheaval unloads a large mound of manure outside the Palais Bourbon from a lorry before being detained by police.^[5]
• 19 January – High levels of rainfall cause flooding in Var, killing two people and leaving 4,000 homes without power.^[6]
• 25 January – François Hollande confirms he has separated from his partner Valérie Trierweiler.^[7]

February

• 2 February – Over 500,000 people in Paris protest against same-sex marriages.^[8]
• 7 February – A severe windstorm hits the north-west of France, causing floods in Brittany and power losses to homes and businesses in Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Normandy and Île-de-France.^[9]
• 8 February – A train derails in the French Alps after being struck by a falling boulder, killing two and injuring nine.^[10]
• 10 February – Taxi drivers stage a one-day strike against the proliferation of unlicensed and unregulated cabs in the country. Their efforts in blocking motorways paralyses rush hour traffic in Paris and Marseilles.^[11]
• 12 February – French President François Hollande is hosted by US President Barack Obama at a White House state dinner, during a visit by Hollande to the US aimed at renewing the partnership between the two countries.
• 14 February – France announces it will increase the number of its soldiers deployed in the Central African Republic as sectarian violence worsens.
• 14 February – Figures released by INSEE show the economy grew by 0.0% and 0.3% in the third and fourth quarters of 2013 respectively.^[12]
• 18 February – French police arrest a man in relation to a killing of a British family in the French Alps.
• 23 February – Six police officers are injured when protests against the construction of a new airport in Nantes turns violent.^[13]

March

• 6 March – Le Monde runs a story claiming that the phone of former President Nicolas Sarkozy had been tapped by judges investigating alleged financial links between him and the former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. It is also alleged that the taps contain evidence of Sarkozy attempting to interfere with judicial inquiries.^[14]
• 11 March – Fourteen Caribbean nations file a lawsuit against the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands for damages caused during the Atlantic slave trade.
• 14 March – Several days of calm weather conditions cause a large buildup of airborne pollutants across much of France, leading to health alert warnings being declared in almost 75% of the country. In a bid to cut further air pollution, transport authorities in Paris, Caen, Grenoble, Reims and Rouen respond by offering free public transport over the weekend.^[15]
• 17 March – With air pollution exceeding safe levels for five consecutive days, authorities in Paris begin restricting the private use of cars and motorcycles to alternate days only.^[16] The measure polarises opinion and thousands of fines are handed out to drivers breaking the restriction before it is lifted the following day.^[17]
• 23 March – The first round of the 2014 municipal elections takes place, with support for the governing Socialist Party declining and support for the right-wing National Front increasing. A BVA poll reports UMP leading with 48% of the vote, ahead of the Socialists on 43% and National Front on 7%.^[18]
• 26 March – Figures released by the Ministry of Labour show a 0.9% rise in unemployment in February. The total jobless count in mainland France now stands at 3.347 million.^[19]
• 30 March – The second round of the municipal elections takes place:
  • Substantial gains are made by the parties of the right, with UMP taking control in at least 140 towns and National Front winning power in 11 towns, while the Socialists suffer heavy losses, most prominently at Limoges which they had held since 1912. The election is marked by a low turnout, with 38% of voters abstaining from voting.^[20]
  • Anne Hidalgo of the Socialist Party is elected Mayor of Paris, becoming the first woman to hold the position.^[21]
  • One week after winning more than 75% of the vote in the first round, the mayor-elect of the southwestern town of Vibrac, Philipe Sauty, commits suicide before taking office.^[22]
• 31 March – Jean-Marc Ayrault resigns as Prime Minister following the disappointing municipal election results for the Socialists. The Interior Minister Manuel Valls is announced as his replacement.^[23]

April

• 7 April – A magnitude 5 earthquake is felt in parts of southeastern France, close to the Italian border. No injuries or damage is reported.^[24]
• 12 April – An estimated 25,000 people on the far-left turn out to protest in Paris against the austerity measures imposed by the Hollande government. A recent poll places Hollande's popularity at its lowest to date, with just 18% approving of his role as President.^[25]
• 14 April – Following the rape of a 16-year-old girl at a private Catholic school in La Rochelle the previous September, police begin a mass DNA test of the school's 527 male pupils and staff to attempt to identify the perpetrator.^[26]
• 24 April – Shares in engineering company Alstom climb 11% following a report of a $13bn takeover bid by American company General Electric.^[27] The following week Alstom's board of directors approve of a $12.4bn offer, despite the government's successful attempt at persuading Siemens to offer a counter-bid.^[28]
• 25 April – The Corsican Assembly passes a law restricting the purchase of homes to only those who have maintained residence on the island for a minimum of five years.^[29]

May

• 5 May – The Senate approves a ban on the cultivation of MON810, a type of genetically modified corn developed by American agribusiness firm Monsanto.^[30]
• 6 May – The $12.4bn takeover bid of Alstom by General Electric is rejected by François Hollande, citing "national interest" grounds.^[31]
• 7 May – Paris St. Germain secure the Ligue 1 title for the second consecutive season.^[32]
• 13 May – The International Organisation of Vine and Wine announces that the United States has overtaken France as the world's largest consumer of wine. France however remains the leader on consumption per capita.^[33]
• 17 May – Leaders of West African nations gather in Paris for discussions on the threat posed by the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram. The summit follows the Chibok schoolgirl kidnapping orchestrated by Boko Haram in northern Nigeria the previous month.^[34]
• 21 May – A new specification of train designed by SNCF is revealed to be too wide for some 1,300 stations across France. Modifying the affected station platforms is estimated to cost €40 million.^[35]
• 24-25 May – The European Parliament elections take place, with National Front winning 25% of the votes, taking 24 of France's 74 seats, the UMP polling second with 20%, landing 19 seats, and the Socialists third on 14%, securing 13 seats. Front National party president Marine Le Pen declares the result a "massive rejection of the European Union", with Prime Minister Manuel Valls calling it "more than another warning; it's a shock, an earthquake".^[36]

June

• 2 June – Plans are announced to reduce the number of regions in Metropolitan France from 22 to 14 in an effort to cut regional bureaucracy and spending.^[37]
• 6 June – Ceremonies commemorating the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings are held in Normandy.^[38]

July

• 17 July – A train collides into another train near Denguin, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, injuring 40 people.
• 24 July – 54 French citizens are killed after Air Algérie Flight 5017 crashes in Mali en route from Ougadougou, Burkina Faso to Algiers, Algeria, with a total of 118 fatalities. Flags are flown at half mast in France for three days of official mourning.^[39]

Deaths

• 6 January – Marina Ginestà, 94, veteran of the Spanish civil war.^[40]
• 29 January – François Cavanna, 90, author and newspaper editor.^[41]
• 1 March – Alain Resnais, 91, film director (Hiroshima mon amour, Last Year at Marienbad).^[42]
• 1 April – Jacques Le Goff, 90, historian.^[43]

See also

• History of France

See also

• 2014 in French television
• List of French films of 2014

References

Years in France
18th century	1700 1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 1707 1708 1709 1710 1711 1712 1713 1714 1715 1716 1717 1718 1719 1720 1721 1722 1723 1724 1725 1726 1727 1728 1729 1730 1731 1732 1733 1734 1735 1736 1737 1738 1739 1740 1741 1742 1743 1744 1745 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758 1759 1760 1761 1762 1763 1764 1765 1766 1767 1768 1769 1770 1771 1772 1773 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799
19th century	1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
20th century	1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
21st century	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029