1838 in France
Events from the year 1838 in France.
Incumbents
Events
- 27 November - Pastry War begins when the French fleet begins a blockade and attack on Mexico in support of a claim for supposed damages owing to a French pastry cook from earlier unrest in the country.
- Badoit mineral water from Saint-Galmier is first bottled.
Births
- 4 March - Paul Lacôme, composer
- 2 April - Léon Gambetta, statesman
- 20 May - Jules Méline, statesman, Prime Minister
- 25 October - Georges Bizet, composer and pianist
- 7 November - Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, writer
- 31 December - Émile Loubet, politician and 7th President of France
Deaths
- 21 February - Silvestre de Sacy, linguist and orientalist
- 28 February - Charles Thévenin, painter
- 17 May - Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, politician and diplomat
- 29 September - Pierre-Dominique Bazaine, scientist and engineer
- 8 October - Prosper Garnot, surgeon and naturalist
- 21 November - Georges Mouton, Marshal of France and political figure
- 20 December - Hégésippe Moreau, poet