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| 1950 |
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| The French inaugurated Le Mistral, a new luxury electric train line linking Paris and Nice. Le Mistral marked the beginning of French leadership in railway technology and investment in the postwar world. | 1 |
| The birth rate increased markedly between 1946 and 1950, to 20.9 per 1,000 from the 14.9 per 1,000 rate of the 1935–1939 period. | 2 |
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| March 8 |
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| The Chamber of Deputies adopted a strict antisabotage bill, primarily directed against Communist-inspired activities. | 3 |
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| June 24 |
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| The Bidault government was defeated, and was followed by a short-lived (June 30–July 13) cabinet under Henri Queuille. | 4 |
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| July 11 |
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| René Pleven succeeded in forming a coalition based on economic compromise with the Socialists. | 5 |
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| Aug. 6 |
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| The French government announced that it planned to create 15 new and fully equipped army divisions in the following three years. After conversations in Washington, Jules Moch, minister of defense, and Maurice Petsche, minister of finance, declared (Oct. 15) that the United States would furnish more than $2 billion in aid to France, and that this would include aid for the war in Indochina. | 6 |
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| Oct. 26 |
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| Premier Pleven recommended the creation of a European ministry of defense (known as the Pleven Plan) rather than the rearmament of (West) Germany. | 7 |
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