What was happening in France 10, 50 and 100 years ago in December

December, 2014: Tours police station stabbing

On December 20, 2014, Bertrand Nzohabonayo, a Burundi-born French citizen, attacked and injured three police officers at Joué-lès-Tours, the largest suburb of the city of Tours, before being shot and killed.

The 20-year-old was already known to police for petty crimes and had recently converted to Islam. He was said to have shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is great in Arabic) “from the moment he entered until his last breath”, according to a police source.

Bernard Cazeneuve, the then-Minister of the Interior, stressed that Nzohabonayo was not on the files of the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI) for “activities of a terrorist nature”, although his brother was known for his radical views.

The Financial Times later described the incident, along with vehicle-rammings on 21 December in Dijon and 22 December in Nantes, as "the first ISIS-linked attack" in France.

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December, 1974: Comoros votes for independence

On December 22, 1974, an independence referendum was held in the Comoros, a group of volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean lying between Madagascar and the African mainland.

During the colonial period, French settlers had established plantations on the islands, initially producing sugar. In 1946, it was declared a French overseas territory.

In the referendum, three islands chose to become independent of France. In Mayotte, however, 63.8% of the population voted to remain part of the Republic.

In February 1976, France organised a second referendum to determine whether Mayotte residents wished to become part of the new Comorian State. 

This showed even stronger support for staying French, with 99.4% of the population voting in favour. In 2011, Mayotte became France’s fifth overseas department, and its 101st department. Since 2014, it has been one of the European Union’s outermost regions.

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December, 1924: tornado hits Nice

A tornado struck the city of Nice on December 1, 1924, at 15:30 local time. It devastated several districts of the Alpes-Maritimes city and injured around 70 people, before dissipating as it approached Mont Gros.

The tornado covered a distance of 4.5km, with an average width of 150m. 

Among the main damage, a 5m wrought-iron sign was ripped off and carried 50m, cars overturned, factory roofs were blown off, large palm trees uprooted, and 2,000 m² of sawmill sheds were completely destroyed. There were reports of people being lifted off the ground. 

“Twenty seconds of terror”, newspaper l'Intransigeant declared in its headline the following day.

Tornadoes are rare in France, but do happen. 

Since 1800, mainland France has only seen about 40 deadly tornadoes, according to Meteo-France, the worst of which killed more than 70 people in Seine-Maritime in 1845.