Election
Defeated by Mitterand in the 2nd round of the Presidential election
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1981 in France
Explore 13 historical events and records for France in 1981.
Historical records for France in 1981
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 13 of 13 unique records.
13Unique records
1 of 1Page
11Named events on this page
10Named people on this page
3Places on this page
May
Election
Wins 51.7% of the vote, 48.3% for Valery Giscard dEstaing
President of France
Appointed President of France, 1st term
Prime Minister of France
Appointed Prime Minister of France
June
First European Council as President
Mitterrand represented France at a European Council soon after becoming President and reaffirmed France's role in Community affairs.
Other events (month unknown)
Arrest of Jean-Marc Ruillan
Arrested ibut quickly released by the new Socialist Government of Francois Mitterand
Diva
Directs Diva.
Election
Comes 3rd in the 1st round of the Presidential elections
Louvre
Decides to create the "Grande Louvre" & restore it as a museum
Mayor
Splits the centre-right vote, Chirac & Giscard were defeated by Socialist Mitterrand
Minister of Planning
Appointed Minister of Planning
Secretary of State for Agriculture
Appointed Minister of Agriculture
Wenger Completes University Economics Studies
Arsène Wenger's university education in economics contributed to the broader academic background he brought into professional football management.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.