Incumbents

President: Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta (until 30 January) Jules Grévy (starting 30 January)
President of the Council of Ministers:
- until 4 February: Jules Armand Dufaure
- 4 February-28 December: William Waddington.^[1]
- starting 28 December: Charles de Freycinet

Events

April – Postman Ferdinand Cheval begins to build his Palais Idéal at Hauterives.^[2]
1 June – Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial (Napoléon IV), great-nephew of Napoléon Bonaparte, Bonapartist Pretender to the throne, dies in Africa during the Anglo-Zulu War.^[3]
17 July – Freycinet Plan enacted to extend rail and other transportation systems.
"La Marseillaise" is restored as the French national anthem.^[4]

Births

22 January – Francis Picabia, painter and poet (died 1953)
4 February – Jacques Copeau, journalist, actor, playwright, director, teacher (died 1949)
23 March – René Jeannel, entomologist (died 1965)
20 April – Paul Poiret, fashion designer (died 1944)
5 June – René Pottier, cyclist, winner of 1906 Tour de France (died 1907)
9 June – Joseph Avenol, 2nd Secretary General of the League of Nations
1 July – Léon Jouhaux, trade union leader who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1951 (died 1954)
13 July – Eugène Freyssinet, structural and civil engineer (died 1962)
11 September – Louis Coatalen, automobile engineer and racing driver (died 1962 in the United Kingdom)
23 September – Charles Camoin, painter (died 1965)
21 October – Joseph Canteloube, composer (died 1957)
17 December – Jean-Marie Charles Abrial, Admiral and Minister (died 1962)
31 December – Joseph Darnand, Bishop (died 1962)

Deaths

10 February – Honoré Daumier, printmaker, caricaturist, painter and sculptor (born 1808)
25 February – Jean-Baptiste Glaire, Roman Catholic priest and Hebrew and Biblical scholar (born 1798)
2 March – Jules Bastide, publicist (born 1800)
30 March – Thomas Couture, painter and teacher (born 1815)
16 April - Bernadette Soubirous, nun and visionary of Lourdes apparitions (born 1844)
20 May – Pierre-Jules Mêne, sculptor (born 1810)
29 May – Pierre Adolphe Piorry, physician (born 1794)
1 June – Napoléon Eugène, Prince Imperial, only child of Emperor Napoleon III of France and his Empress consort Eugénie de Montijo (born 1856)
26 August – Charles Marie Edouard Chassaignac, physician (born 1805)
6 September – Amédée de Noé, caricaturist and lithographer (born 1818)
17 September – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, architect and theorist (born 1814)
12 November – Jean-Charles Chenu, physician and naturalist (born 1808)
18 November
- Michel Chevalier, engineer, statesman and economist (born 1806)
- André Giroux, photographer and painter (born 1801)
19 November – Jean-Joseph Gaume, Roman Catholic theologian and author (born 1802)
29 December – Jean Étienne Bercé, entomologist (born 1803)

References

^ "Waddington, William Henry" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 226.
^ Blume, Mary (2007-05-03). "The postman who delivered a palace". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
^ "Battle Royal - Louis, Prince Imperial". Military History. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
^ "Modern History Sourcebook: La Marseillaise". sourcebooks.fordham.edu. Retrieved 2023-01-22.

v t e Years in France
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21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e 1879 in Europe
Sovereign states	Andorra Austria-Hungary Baden Belgium Bulgaria Denmark France Germany Greece Italy Liechtenstein Luxembourg Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Ottoman Empire Portugal Prussia Russia San Marino Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom United Principalities
Dependencies, colonies and other territories	Cyprus Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Malta