2022 in France

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Events in the year 2022 in France.

Incumbents

• President – Emmanuel Macron (REM)
• Prime Minister – Jean Castex (REM) until May 16, Élisabeth Borne (REM) from May 16
• Government – Borne government

Events

Ongoing — COVID-19 pandemic in France

2 March-7 April - 2022 Corsica unrest: Protests and riots break out in Corsica after the prison assault and death of nationalist Yvan Colonna, leading to over 100 injuries and several arson attacks.^[1]

February

• 14 February - Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque explosion: An explosion and fire in a building on Rue Arago, Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque, kill eight people and injures around thirty. An arson investigation leads to the arrest of three suspects.^[2]

March

• 20 March - Territorial elections are held for the overseas communities of Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and the Territorial Assembly of Wallis and Futuna.^[3]

April

• 10 April - The first round of the 2022 French presidential election is held.^[4]
• 24 April - The second round of the 2022 French presidential election is held and incumbent president Emmanuel Macron is reelected, defeating Marine Le Pen.^[5][6][7]

May

• 16 May - Prime minister Jean Castex resigns and president Macron appoints Minister of Labour, Employment and Economic Inclusion Élisabeth Borne to replace him.^[8]

June

• 12-19 June - 2022 French legislative election: Two-round legislative elections are held; the Ensemble coalition remain the largest bloc but loses absolute majority, resulting in France’s first hung parliament since 1988 and formation of the first minority government since 1993.^[9]

July

• 1-24 July - 2022 Tour de France: Jonas Vingegaard wins the 109th Tour de France, held across Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, and France. The race included mountain stages, protests, and a heatwave, with Wout van Aert winning the points classification.

• 12 July - 2022 Gironde wildfires: Large wildfires in Gironde burn over 20,800 hectares and force 36,000+ evacuations. Extensive firefighting efforts include thousands of firefighters and international aircraft to protect homes and campsites.^[10]

August

• 12 August - 2022 Gironde wildfires: A renewed wildfire in Gironde burns 7,400 hectares and displaces 10,000 people, with assistance from European firefighters and aerial units.^[11]

November

• 3 November - Far-right MP de Fournas shouts "Go back to Africa!" at black MP Bilongo, sparking uproar and suspension. Prime Minister Borne condemned the racist remark.^[12][13][14]
• 4 November - The National Assembly suspends Gregoire de Fournas for 15 days and cuts his pay; Emmanuel Macron’s party boycotts sessions pending a strong penalty.^[12][13][14]
• 5 November - Jordan Bardella is elected president of National Rally, ending Le Pen era as president of the party.^[15]

December

• 11 December - France wins the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 held in Yerevan, Armenia, with the song "Oh Maman !" by Lissandro.^[16]
• 23 December - 2022 Paris shooting: A shooter at Kurdish sites in Paris kills three and injured three. The 69-year-old suspect, motivated by racism, is arrested at the scene.^[17]

Deaths

January

• 1 January
  • Roger-Xavier Lantéri, journalist (b. 1930)^[18]
  • Pierre Parsus, painter and illustrator (b. 1921)^[19]
  • Jean-Charles Terrassier, French psychologist. (b. 1940)^[20]
• 3 January
  • Igor Bogdanoff, television presenter and academic fraudster (Bogdanov affair) (b. 1942)^[21]
  • Daniel Colliard, French politician, deputy (1993–1997). (b. 1930)^[22]
  • Claude Taittinger, businessman, director of Taittinger (b. 1927)^[23]
• 5 January – Anatole Novak, road bicycle racer (b. 1937)^[24]
• 7 January – José Évrard, politician, deputy (b. 1945)^[25]

March

• 17 March – Jean-Pierre Demailly, mathematician (b. 1957)^[26]

May

• 29 May – Ariel Besse, actress (b. 1965)^[27]

August

• 11 August – Jean-Jacques Sempé, cartoonist (Le Petit Nicolas) (b. 1932)^[28]

September

• 13 September — Jean-Luc Gudard, film director (b. 1930)

See also

• 2020s portal
• Current events portal
• France portal

Country overviews

• History of France
• History of modern France
• Outline of France
• Government of France
• Politics of France
• Years in France
• Timeline of France history
• List of French films of 2022

Related timelines for current period

• 2022

References

1. "Protests intensify in Corsica one week after prison attack on separatist leader Colonna". RFI. 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
2. "Explosion à Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque : un 8e mort extrait des décombres de l'incendie par les secours". France 3 Occitanie (in French). 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
3. "Elections territoriales pour plusieurs collectivités d'Outre-mer le 20 mars". Outre-mer la 1ère (in French). 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
4. Voce, Antonio; Clarke, Seán. "French election 2022: full first-round results". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
5. "Election présidentielle 2022". www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
6. "Macron re-elected as French voters hold off Le Pen's far right once more". France 24. 2022-04-24. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
7. "French election result: Macron defeats Le Pen and vows to unite divided France". BBC News. 2022-04-25. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
8. "EN DIRECT - Elisabeth Borne dédie sa nomination à Matignon à "toutes les petites filles"". BFMTV (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-16.
9. Bernard, Mathias (2022-06-20). "Parliamentary elections shock France's political order to its core". The Conversation. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
10. "Nos actualités". Gironde.FR (in French). Archived from the original on 2025-01-15. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
11. "France firefighters battle 'monster' wildfire near Bordeaux". 2022-08-11. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
12. "'Go back to Africa': French MP's outburst sparks racism row". euronews. 2022-11-04. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
13. "French far-right MP De Fournas suspended for shouting 'Back to Africa'". 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
14. "French far-right MP temporarily suspended for shouting "Go back to Africa"". Reuters. 2022-11-04. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
15. "France's far right replaces Le Pen with Jordan Bardella – DW – 11/05/2022". dw.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
16. "Junior Eurovision 2022: trionfo Francia, l'Italia è undicesima". www.libero.it (in Italian). 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
17. "Paris shooting: Suspect admits 'pathological' hatred of migrants". 2022-12-25. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
18. "M. LANTERI Roger - Avis de décès du 05 janvier 2022". Le Télégramme. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022.
19. "Mort du peintre gardois Pierre Parsus, à 100 ans". ici, par France Bleu et France 3. January 3, 2022. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022.
20. rédaction, La (January 3, 2022). "Jean-Charles Terrassier, spécialiste du haut potentiel, est décédé". Nice-Matin. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022.
21. Rédaction, La. "Igor et Grichka Bogdanoff : biographie des jumeaux scientifiques du PAF". www.linternaute.fr. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022.
22. "Disparition de Daniel Colliard, une grande figure communiste du Havre". France 3 Normandie. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022.
23. "L'ancien président du champagne Taittinger de Reims est décédé | Journal L'Union". www.lunion.fr. January 4, 2022.
24. "Disparition. Cyclisme : l'Isérois Anatole Novak est décédé". www.ledauphine.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022.
25. "Covid-19 : Des masques chirurgicaux distribués «à la mi-janvier» dans les écoles". Libération. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022.
26. "Décès de Jean-Pierre Demailly | Société Mathématique de France". smf.emath.fr. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
27. "Mort à 56 ans d'Ariel Besse, la belle-fille de Patrick Dewaere dans Beau-père". Le Figaro (in French). 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
28. "French cartoonist Sempe, famous for New Yorker covers, dies age 89". Reuters. August 12, 2022.