1961 in France

Events from the year 1961 in France.

Events

8 January - French referendum on Algerian self-determination is approved by three-quarters of voters.
18 March - A ceasefire takes effect in the Algerian War of Independence.
21 April-26 April - Algiers putsch, failed coup d'état attempt organized by four retired French army generals.
31 May - Rebel generals Maurice Challe and Andre Zelelr are sentenced to 15 years in prison.
31 May - President John F. Kennedy and Charles De Gaulle meet in Paris.
17 June - A Paris-to-Strasbourg train derails near Vitry-le-François; 24 are killed, 109 injured.
21 September - Organisation armée secrète (OAS) slips an anti-de Gaulle message into TV programming.
October - The Renault 4, a small estate car similar in concept to the Citroen 2CV saloon, is launched at the Paris Salon.^[1]
10 October - Simca launches the Simca 1000, a small rear-engined four-door family saloon.^[2]
17 October - Paris massacre, French police attacked an unarmed and peaceful demonstration of some 30,000 Algerians. Government acknowledged 40 deaths in 1998, although there are estimates of up to 200.

4 May - Phenomenological philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty dies, age 53, of a stroke, apparently while preparing for a class on Descartes.