29/06/81: Francois Mitterand on TIME Magazine front cover

source: TIME magazine archive

21/05/81: Francois Mitterand sworn in as French President

On Thursday 21 May 1981 Francois Mitterand (1916 -1996) was sworn in as President of the French Republic (Président de la République française). He had been elected on the previous 10th May winning 51.76% of the votes, ousting the former president Valéry Giscard D'Estaing.

Mitterand was the first Socialist President of the Fifth French Republic and remained in office until 1995 after being re-elected for a second term in 1988.

He died from prostrate cancer at the age of 79.

21/04/81: Explosion in Joigny, France

On Tuesday 21 April 1981 an explosion probably caused by a gas leak took place in the heart of the town of Joigny in Burgundy, France.
The explosion happened in the centre of the town, destroying three buildings and miraculously killing only two people. Six more were injured although the town was subsequently covered by a huge cloud of dust.

pic lyonne.fr

pic: cheny.net

source: lyonne.fr

7/04/81: Nantes defeated at home after 92 matches

On Tuesday 7 April 1981 in a match in the France's Ligue 1 Auxerre defeated Nantes 0-1, ending a five-year home unbeaten streak for Nantes.

pic.: delcampe.net

The streak began in June 1976 under manager José Arribas, in the last month of his 16-year tenure in charge of the club. On 4 June, Nantes managed a 1-1 draw with Nice, then won their only remaining home match of the season, a 1-0 victory over Nîmes on the season's last day.

Nantes' ninety-two match streak is one of the best home league unbeaten runs, within striking distance of PSV Eindhoven (93) and Red Star Belgrade (96), but still well behind the top mark of 121 set by Real Madrid from 1957 to 1965.

pic.: This Day in Football History

- this post adapted from the original by Brian Seal on the This Day in Football History blog.

8/1/81: The Trans-en-Provence UFO sighting

In the early evening of January 8th, 1981 French farmer Renato Nicolai reported to have seen an unidentified flying object hurtle through the early evening sky, subsequently to land some 500 metres away, only to take off again leaving behind a sizeable scorched patch on the ground. The event took place near Trans-en-Provence in the south of France.

Although the UFO sighting and its alleged physical traces have been the subject of serious investigation by authorities and UFO organisations, the event has also been met with more sceptical interpretations.

Sources: UFO Casebook, Wikipedia
see also: ufoevidence.org