1887 in France

Decades:	1860s; 1870s; 1880s; 1890s; 1900s;
See also:	Other events of 1887; History of France • Timeline • Years

Events from the year 1887 in France.

Incumbents

28 January – Construction of foundation of the Eiffel Tower starts in Paris. 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.^[1]
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.^[2]
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.

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)

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)