2016 in France

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (July 2016) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "2016 in France" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

← 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2016 in France → 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Decades:	1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s
See also:	Other events in 2016 History of France · Timeline · Years

Events from the year 2016 in France.

• President – François Hollande (Socialist)
• Prime Minister – Manuel Valls (Socialist, until 6 December), Bernard Cazeneuve (Socialist, starting 6 December)

• 1 January –
  • 9 regions of France are suppressed, from 27 to 18.
  • Creation of the Métropole du Grand Paris.
  • Inauguration of the Université Grenoble Alpes.
• 27 January – Jean-Jacques Urvoas is appointed to be Minister of Justice.
• 11 February – Former Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development.
• 26 February – 41st César Awards.
• 8 March – Laurent Fabius takes over as President of the Constitutional Council; Michel Pinault and Corinne Luquiens enter as simple members.
• 31 March – Nuit debout begins at the Place de la République, Paris.
• 6 April – En Marche!, a liberal centrist political party, is founded by Emmanuel Macron in Amiens.
• 20 May – Introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes and tobacco products.
• 11 May – Beginning of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
• 10 June – Opening of the UEFA Euro 2016 in 10 French cities.
• 13 June – Magnanville stabbing.
• 26 June – Referendum in the Loire-Atlantique department about the Aéroport du Grand Ouest; 55% of the voters accept the project.
• 3 July – Opening of the LGV Est.
• 14 July – Terrorist attack in Nice.
• 24 July – The 2016 Tour de France ends in Paris.
• 26 July – 2016 Normandy church attack.
• 5 August –
  • 177 athletes from France begin to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
  • The Braderie de Lille is cancelled due to terrorist threats.
• 6 August – Thirteen people are killed in a fire in Rouen.
• 8 August – The El Khomri law is signed by President Hollande.
• 12 August – The mayor of Cannes bans the Islamic Burkini the swimsuits, citing a possible link to Islamic extremism.^[1] At least 20 other French towns, including Nice, subsequently joined the ban.^[2][3]
• 30 August – Emmanuel Macron resigns from his position as Minister of the Economy.
• 23 August – Laurent Wauquiez becomes president of The Republicans party ad interim.
• 4 September – Notre Dame Cathedral bombing attempt.
• 9 September – Opening of the fête de l'Humanité (3 days).
• 1 October – Beginning of the 2016 Paris Motor Show.
• 7 November – Yannick Jadot wins the Europe Ecology – The Greens primary and becomes the party's candidate for the 2017 French presidential election.
• 13 November – A thousands of French people marks the first anniversary of last year attacks in Paris since World War II.
• 27 November – Former Prime Minister François Fillon wins the right-wing primary for the 2017 French presidential election.
• 1 December – President François Hollande announces he will not seek reelection in April 2017.
• 6 December – Bernard Cazeneuve is appointed to be prime minister.
• 19 December – The Law Court of the Republic founds IMF managing director Christine Lagarde guilty of negligence during her time as Minister of Finance.

• 1 January – Jacques Deny, mathematician (b. 1916)
• 2 January – Michel Delpech, singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1946)
• 4 January
  • André Turcat, aviator (b. 1921)
  • Michel Galabru, actor (b. 1922)
• 5 January
  • Tancrède Melet, tightrope walker (b. 1983)
  • Pierre Boulez, composer, conductor and writer (b. 1925)
• 6 January – Yves Vincent, actor (b. 1921)
• 7 January – André Courrèges, fashion designer (b. 1923)
• 15 January – Robert Darène, film director and actor (b. 1914)
• 18 January
  • Michel Tournier, writer (b. 1924)
  • Leila Alaoui, artist and photographer (b. 1982)
• 20 January – Edmonde Charles-Roux, writer (b. 1920)
• 21 January – Robert Sassone, road racing cyclist (b. 1978)
• 23 January – Bernard Quennehen, road racing cyclist (b. 1930)
• 28 January – Emile Destombes, Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1935)
• 29 January – Jacques Rivette, film director and film critic (b. 1928)
• 31 January – Benoît Violier, chef (b. 1971)

• 1 February – Bernard Piras, politician (b. 1942)
• 7 February – Juliette Benzoni, writer (b. 1920)
• 8 February – Violette Verdy, ballerina (b. 1933)
• 17 February – Claude Jeancolas, author (b. 1949)

• 1 March – Jean Miotte, abstract painter (b. 1926)
• 1 March – Carole Achache, writer, photographer and actress (b. 1952)^[4]

• 1 April – André Villers, photographer (b. 1930)
• 15 April – Anne Grommerch, politician (b. 1970)

• 1 May – Jean-Marie Girault, politician (b. 1926)
• 5 May – Siné, political cartoonist (b. 1928)

• 1 July – Yves Bonnefoy, poet (b. 1923)
• 2 July – Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister (b. 1930)

• List of French films of 2016
• 2016 in French music
• 2016 in French television