1900 in France
Events from the year 1900 in France.
Events
- 31 March - The length of a workday for women and children is limited to 11 hours by law.
- 1 April - Every French policeman is assigned to carry a gun.
- 14 April - Paris World Exhibition opens.
- 21 April - Battle of Kousséri takes place in Chad, linking all French possessions in Western Africa.
- 27 June - Treaty of Paris is signed between the Spanish Empire and the French Empire by which Río Muni was relieved of all conflicting claims.
- 19 July - The first line of the Métro is inaugurated in Paris.
Arts and literature
- 2 February - First performance of Gustav Carpenter's opera, Louise.
Sport
- Olympic Games held in Paris.
Births
January to March
- 3 January - Marcel Gobillot, cyclist and Olympic medallist (died 1981).
- 5 January - Yves Tanguy, surrealist painter (died 1955).
- 9 January - Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie, journalist, politician and French Resistance member (died 1969).
- 11 January - Benoît Fauré, cyclist (died 1980).
- 4 February - Jacques Prévert, poet and screenwriter (died 1977).
- 11 February - Raymond Cambefort, one of the last three fully verified World War I veterans living in France (died 2008).
- 21 February - Madeleine Renaud, actress (died 1994).
- 6 March - Henri Jeanson, writer and journalist (died 1970).
- 8 March - Pierre David-Weill, investment banker (died 1975).
- 19 March - Frédéric Joliot-Curie, physicist and Nobel laureate (died 1958).
April to June
- 13 April - Pierre Molinier, painter and photographer (died 1976).
- 15 April - Pierre Nord, writer, spy and resistance member (died 1985).
- 20 April - Jacques Adnet, designer, architect and interior designer (died 1984).
- 28 April
- Maurice Thorez, communist politician (died 1964).
- Jean Vaysse, rugby union player (died 1974).
- 17 May - Achille Souchard, cyclist (died 1976).
- 22 May - Yvonne de Gaulle, wife of Charles de Gaulle (died 1979).
- 14 June - Roger Bourdin, baritone (died 1973).
- 29 June - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, pilot and writer (died 1944).
July to December
- 4 July - Robert Desnos, surrealist poet (died 1945).
- 12 July - Marcel Paul, trade unionist and communist politician (died 1982).
- 17 July - Marcel Dalio, actor (died 1983).
- 19 July - Pierre Coquelin de Lisle, sport shooter and Olympic gold medallist (died 1980).
- 26 July - Jacques Février, pianist (died 1979).
- 11 August - Georges Limbour, writer (died 1970).
- 6 September - Marc Bernard, writer (died 1983).
- 30 September - Pierre Yvert, philatelic editor (died 1964).
- 9 October - Henri Lauvaux, athlete and Olympic medallist (died 1970).
- 13 October - Ghislaine Marie Françoise Dommanget, actress and Princess of Monaco (died 1991).
- November - Émile Gagnan, engineer and inventor (died 1979).
- 15 December - Hellé Nice, model, dancer and motor racing driver (died 1984).
Full date unknown
- Suzanne Dechevaux-Dumesnil, lover and later wife of Samuel Beckett (died 1989).
- René Guillot, author (died 1969).
- Marcel Légaut, philosopher and mathematician (died 1990).
- Georges Neveux, dramatist and poet (died 1982).
Deaths
- 11 February - Émile Blanchard, zoologist and entomologist (born 1819).
- 19 March - Charles-Louis Hanon, piano pedagogue and composer (born 1819).
- 5 April - Joseph Louis François Bertrand, mathematician (born 1822).
- 22 April - Amédée-François Lamy, military officer (born 1858).
- 18 May - Félix Ravaisson-Mollien, philosopher and archaeologist (born 1813).
- 16 June - François d'Orléans, prince de Joinville, admiral (born 1818).
- 24 September - Louis Ratisbonne, writer and man of letters (born 1827).
- 13 October - Louis Adolphe Cochery, politician and journalist (born 1819).
Full date unknown
- Jules Adenis, dramatist and opera librettist (born 1823).
- Victor Auguste, baron Duperré, colonial administrator (born 1825).