EN
Photoluminescence properties of CeF_{3} have been investigated. Two kinds of emitting centers have been identified: regular Ce^{3+} sites exhibiting two close emission bands (285 and 300 nm) and a fast fluorescence (20 ns) and several physically different perturbed Ce^{3+} sites giving rise to a broad emission band near 340 nm and a longer fluorescence (30-40 ns) the decay time of which varies with wavelength. An energy transfer occurs between these two kinds of centers. Scintillation properties have been studied under UV and X-ray excitation. The additional fast decay always observed at short time under ionizing radiation is interpreted by a temperature dependent luminescence quenching phenomenon due to high excitation density.