1951 births

Yves Bur (born 10 March 1951 in Strasbourg) is a former member of the National Assembly of France. He has been elected in the 4th constituency of the Bas-Rhin department and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement.

Henri Berestycki (born 25 March 1951) is a French mathematician who obtained his PhD from Université Paris VI – Pierre and Marie Curie University in 1975. His Dissertation was titled Contributions à l'étude des problèmes elliptiques non linéaires, and his doctoral advisor was Haïm Brezis. He was an L.E. Dickson Instructor in Mathematics at the University of Chicago from 1975–77, after which he returned to France to continue his research. He has made many contributions in nonlinear analysis, ranging from nonlinear elliptic equations, hamiltonian systems, spectral theory of elliptic operators, and with applications to the description of mathematical modelling of fluid mechanics and combustion. His current research interests include the mathematical modelling of financial markets, mathematical models in biology and especially in ecology, and modelling in social sciences (in particular, urban planning and criminology). For these latter topics, he obtained an ERC Advanced grant in 2012.
He worked at the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), then moved to an appointment as Professor at University Paris XIII (1983–1985). He became a Professor of Mathematics in 1988 at Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris VI (1988–2001 of “exceptional class” since 1993), and became professor at École normale supérieure, Paris (1994–1999), and part-time professor at the École Polytechnique (1987–1999). He is also a visiting Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Chicago, and was also co-director of the Stevanovich Center of Financial Mathematics in Chicago. He is currently the Directeur d'études (Research Professor) at École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS), since 2001.

Jean-Pierre Bel (born 30 December 1951) is a French retired politician who served as President of the Senate from 2011 to 2014 (the sole non-right-wing in the Fifth Republic). From the Ariège department, Bel is a member of the Socialist Party; he was elected to the Senate in September 1998 and re-elected in September 2008. Bel was President of the Socialist Group in the Senate from 2004 to 2011.
Following the September 2008 Senate election, Bel was the Socialist candidate for the post of President of the Senate on 1 October 2008, but because the right held a majority of seats in the Senate, he was defeated by Gérard Larcher. In the vote, he received 134 votes against 173 votes for Larcher.The left won a Senate majority in the September 2011 Senate election, and Bel was elected as President of the Senate on 1 October 2011. He received 179 votes against 134 votes for the right's candidate, outgoing Senate President Larcher; a centrist, Valerie Letard, received 29 votes.

Dominique Khalfouni (born 1951) is a French ballet dancer. Once a star (étoile) of the Paris Opera Ballet and a principal of the Ballet National de Marseille, she is now a ballet teacher.

Lucien Abenhaim is a scientific entrepreneur. He has created several academic research groups and Medtechs, including [RE]MEDs, specialised in the repurposing of medicines.
He was a member of the Executive Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Jean-Philippe Lafont (born 11 February 1951) is a French baritone. He studied in his native city of Toulouse and later at the Opéra-Studio in Paris. He made his operatic debut as Papageno in The Magic Flute at the Salle Favart, Paris in 1974. He went on to appear regularly in Toulouse, where he first played the title role in Verdi's Falstaff in 1987.Lafont has performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala in Milan and the Royal Opera House, London. Among the roles with which he is particularly associated are the four villains in The Tales of Hoffmann, the Comte des Grieux in Manon, Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande, Barak in Die Frau ohne Schatten and the title roles in Gianni Schicchi, Rigoletto, Boris Godunov and Macbeth.His discography includes:

Auber: La muette de Portici
Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust
Bizet: Djamileh
Debussy: La chute de la maison Usher
Escaich: Claude
Gluck: Les Pélerins de la Mecque
Gounod: Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cécile
Offenbach: La Belle Hélène
Offenbach: Mesdames de la Halle
Offenbach: Monsieur Choufleuri
Offenbach: Pomme d'Api
Salieri: Les Danaïdes
Salieri: Tarare
Verdi: Falstaff

Christian Bobin (24 April 1951 – 24 November 2022) was a French author and poet.
Bobin received the 1993 Prix des Deux Magots for the book Le Très-Bas (translated into English in 1997 by Michael Kohn and published under two titles: The Secret of Francis of Assisi: A Meditation and The Very Lowly).

Christophe de Margerie (French pronunciation: [kʁistɔf də maʁʒəʁi], 6 August 1951 – 20 October 2014) was a French businessman. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of French oil corporation Total S.A.

Harry Middleton (December 28, 1949 – July 28, 1993) was a southern American nature writer, most noted for his book The Earth is Enough.

Olivier Dassault (French pronunciation: [ɔlivje daso]; 1 June 1951 – 7 March 2021) was a French politician and billionaire businessman, who served as a deputy in the National Assembly.