1887 in France

• President: Jules Grévy (until 12 December), Marie François Sadi Carnot (starting 12 December) • President of the Council of Ministers: • until 30 May: René Goblet • 30 May-12 December: Maurice Rouvier • starting 12 December: Pierre Tirard ==Events==

• 28 January – Construction of foundation of the Eiffel Tower starts in Paris. On 14 February, a letter of protest against its design signed by members of the artistic community is published on the front page of Les Temps newspaper. On 1 July, work on the iron superstructure begins. • 11 January – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the French Academy of Medicine by Dr. Joseph Grancher. • 23 February – The French Riviera is hit by a powerful earthquake originating in Liguria, killing around 2,000 along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. • 24 February – The first international telephone line in Europe is opened to the public between Brussels and Paris. • 21–28 April – The Schnaebele incident nearly leads to war between France and Germany. • The Lebel Model 1886 rifle is first issued to the French army, the first military firearm to use smokeless powder ammunition. ==Literature==

• Léon Bloy - Le Désespéré • Édouard Dujardin - Les lauriers sont coupés • Joris-Karl Huysmans - En rade • Pierre Loti - Madame Chrysanthème • Guy de Maupassant - Le Rosier de Madame Husson • Jules Verne - Le Chemin de France / Nord contre Sud • Émile Zola - La Terre ==Births==

January to June • 17 January – Marcel Godivier, cyclist (died 1963) • 18 March – Alfred Vaucher, theologian, church historian and bibliographer (died 1993) • 16 April – Paul Marie André Richaud, Cardinal (died 1968) • 31 May – Saint-John Perse, poet and diplomat, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1960 (died 1975) • 13 June – André François-Poncet, politician and diplomat (died 1978) July to December • 2 July – Marcel Tabuteau, oboist (died 1966) • 28 July – Marcel Duchamp, artist (died 1968) • 16 September – Nadia Boulanger, composer and conductor (died 1979) • 30 September – Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert, General (died 1981) • 5 October – René Cassin, jurist and judge, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968 (died 1976) • 11 October – Pierre Jean Jouve, writer, novelist and poet (died 1976) • 13 November – Jean de Limur, film director (died 1976) • 31 December – Gaston Modot, actor (died 1970) ==Deaths==

• 2 August – Joseph-Louis Lambot, inventor of ferro-cement (born 1814) • 14 August – Jules Pasdeloup, conductor (born 1819) • 20 August – Jules Laforgue, poet (born 1860) • 21 October – Bernard Jauréguiberry, Admiral and statesman (born 1815) Full date unknown • Jules Desnoyers, geologist and archaeologist (born 1800) • Honoré Jacquinot, surgeon and zoologist (born 1815) ==References==