List of French people
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French people of note include:
Actors
A–C
- Carole Achache
- Isabelle Adjani
- Renée Adorée
- Anouk Aimée
- Flo Ankah
- Arletty
- Antonin Artaud
- Fanny Ardant
- Jeanne Aubert
- Jean-Louis Aubert
- Jean-Pierre Aumont
- Claude Autant-Lara
- Daniel Auteuil
- Charles Aznavour
- Brigitte Bardot
- Emmanuelle Béart
- Loleh Bellon
- Jean-Paul Belmondo
- François Berléand
- Charles Berling
- Adam Bessa
- Suzanne Bianchetti
- Juliette Binoche
- Bernard Blier
- Sandrine Bonnaire
- Élodie Bouchez
- Bourvil
- Dany Boon
- Angelique Boyer
- Charles Boyer
- Guillaume Canet
- Capucine
- Martine Carol
- Leslie Caron
- Isabelle Carré
- Vincent Cassel
- Jean-Pierre Cassel
- Laetitia Casta
- Robert Clary
- Grégoire Colin
- Marion Cotillard
- Clotilde Courau
- Darry Cowl
D–L
- Béatrice Dalle
- Lili Damita
- Danielle Darrieux
- Alain Delon
- Danièle Delorme
- Julie Delpy
- Catherine Deneuve
- Élisabeth Depardieu
- Gérard Depardieu
- Guillaume Depardieu
- Patrick Dewaere
- Arielle Dombasle
- Michel Drucker
- Morgane Dubled
- Jean Dujardin
- Anny Dupérey
- Romain Duris
- Nicolas Duvauchelle
- Fernandel
- Brigitte Fossey
- Louis de Funès
- Félicité Du Jeu
- Jean Gabin
- Julie Gayet
- Annie Girardot
- Judith Godrèche
- Eva Green
- Sacha Guitry
- Isabelle Huppert
- Irène Jacob
- Claude Jade
- Marlène Jobert
- Valérie Kaprisky
- Louise Labèque
- Mélanie Laurent
- Jean-Pierre Léaud
- Virginie Ledoyen
- Noémie Lenoir
- Max Linder
- Sheryfa Luna
M–Z
- Marcel Marceau
- Sophie Marceau
- Jean Marais
- Jean-Pierre Marielle
- Ali Marhyar
- Olivier Martinez
- Jean-Baptiste Maunier
- Bernard Minet
- Miou-Miou
- Mistinguett
- Yves Montand
- Jeanne Moreau
- Michèle Morgan
- Musidora
- Pierre Niney
- Gérard Philipe
- Michel Piccoli
- Clémence Poésy
- Alexia Portal
- Yvonne Printemps
- Marguerite Priola, stage name of Marguerite–Marie–Sophie Polliart
- Pérette Pradier
- Jérôme Pradon
- Elisa-Rachel Félix
- Gabrielle Réjane
- Jean Reno
- Marine Renoir
- Pierre Richard
- Sebastian Roché
- Jean Rochefort
- Béatrice Romand
- Philippine de Rothschild
- Nathalie Roussel
- Michel Roux
- Emmanuelle Seigner
- David Serero
- Léa Seydoux
- Delphine Seyrig
- Simone Signoret
- Audrey Tautou
- Jean-Louis Trintignant
- Marie Trintignant
- Gaspard Ulliel
- Michael Vartan
- Hervé Villechaize
- Mallory Wanecque
- Lambert Wilson
Architects
- Jacques-François Blondel
- Germain Boffrand
- Étienne-Louis Boullée
- Salomon de Brosse
- Libéral Bruant
- Androuet du Cerceau family
- Charles Edouard Jeanneret(Swiss-born)
- Philibert de l'Orme
- Gustave Eiffel
- Pierre François Léonard Fontaine
- Ange-Jacques Gabriel
- Charles Garnier
- Tony Garnier
- Hector Guimard
- Villard de Honnecourt
- Pierre Jeanneret (Swiss-born)
- Henri Labrouste
- Claude Nicolas Ledoux
- Pierre Lescot
- André Lurçat
- Robert Mallet-Stevens
- François Mansart
- Jules Hardouin Mansart
- Louis Métezeau
- Michel Mimran (born 1954)
- Jean Nouvel
- Charles Percier
- Claude Perrault
- Dominique Perrault
- Auguste Perret
- Christian de Portzamparc
- Jean Prouvé
- Alain Provost
- Henri Sauvage
- Jacques-Germain Soufflot
- Louis Le Vau
- Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Artists
Painters
Photographers
Sculptors
- Frédéric Bartholdi
- Antoine Bourdelle
- Antonin Carlès
- Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
- César
- Antoine-Denis Chaudet
- Camille Claudel
- Paul Dubois
- Raymond Duchamp-Villon
- Alexandre Falguière
- Jean-Antoine Houdon
- René Iché
- Antonin Idrac
- Antonin Mercié
- Hippolyte Moulin
- Émile Louis Picault
- Jean-Baptiste Pigalle
- Antoine-Augustin Préault
- Auguste Rodin
- René Rozet
- François Rude
- Niki de Saint Phalle
- Sacha Sosno
- Marie-Renée Ucciani
Athletes
A–J
- André the Giant, professional wrestler
- World Figure Skating Championship bronze[1]
- Tariq Abdul-Wahad (born Olivier Saint-Jean), basketball player
- Luc Alphand, Alpine skier
- Jacques Anquetil, cyclist
- Jonathan Assous, France/Israel, defensive midfielder (Beitar Ramat Gan)[2]
- Fabien Barthez, football player and racing driver
- Elliot Benchetrit, tennis player
- Brice Blanc, jockey
- Marion Bartoli, tennis player
- Fabrice Benichou, world-champion super bantamweight boxer
- Stéphane Bernadis, pairs figure skater (with Sarah Abitbol)
- Alain Bernard, Olympic swimmer
- Serge Betsen, Cameroon-born French citizen, rugby player
- Serge Blanco, Venezuela-born French citizen, rugby player
- Jean Bloch, Olympic silver football player
- Louison Bobet, cyclist
- Surya Bonaly, figure skater
- Sébastien Bourdais, Indycar driver
- Israel Basketball Premier League
- Andrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet, 1928 and 1932 Olympic skating gold medalists
- Jean-Luc Cairon (born 1962), gymnast and coach
- Alain Calmat, figure skater, Olympic silver, world championship gold, silver, two-time bronze
- Philippe Candeloro, figure skater
- Eric Cantona, football player
- Georges Carpentier, world-champion boxer
- Marcel Cerdan, world-champion boxer
- François Cevert (born François Goldenberg), Formula One driver
- Eugène Christophe, cyclist
- Albert Clément (c. 1878–1907), motor racing driver
- Robert Cohen, world-champion bantamweight boxer
- Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, tennis player
- Eugène Criqui, world-champion boxer
- Jean Cruguet, jockey of Seattle Slew
- Richard Dacoury, basketball player
- Pierre Darmon, tennis player, highest world ranking # 8
- André Darrigade, cyclist
- Mathieu Debuchy, football player
- Émile Delahaye, race car pioneer
- Marcel Desailly, Ghana-born French citizen, football player
- Abou Diaby, football player
- Boris Diaw, basketball player
- judoka
- Yves Dreyfus, épée fencer, Olympic bronze medal, French champion
- Isabelle Duchesnay and Paul Duchesnay, ice dancers
- Alojzy Ehrlich, Poland, table tennis, 3x won silver and 1x won bronze in the World Championships, incarcerated by the Nazis in Auschwitz, represented France after 1945.
- Andre Ethier, Major League Baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Patrice Evra, football player for Monaco and Manchester United
- André Fabre, horse trainer
- Evan Fournier, basketball player
- Laurent Fignon, cyclist
- Jeremy Flores, surfer
- Just Fontaine, football player
- Jacques Fouroux, rugby union player and coach
- slalom canoer, Olympic silver (K-1 slalom), world championships bronze (C-1)[3]
- slalom canoer, Olympic bronze (K-1 slalom), five golds at ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships(two-time K-1, three-time K-1 team)
- Pierre Galle, basketball player and coach
- Pierre Gasly, racing driver currently competing in Formula One with Alpine F1 Team
- Camille du Gast, race car driver
- Lucien Gaudin, fencer
- Fabien Gilot, Olympic and world champion swimmer
- Yoann Gourcuff, football player
- Stéphane Haccoun, boxer
- Rudy Haddad, soccer midfielder (Hapoel Ashkelon & U21 national team)[4]
- Alphonse Halimi ("la Petite Terreur"), world-champion bantamweight boxer
- Marlène Harnois (born 1986), taekwondo practitioner
- Thierry Henry, football player
- Bernard Hinault, cyclist
- Jaylen Hoard (born 1999), French-American basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Pierre Houseaux, triathlete
- Cristobal Huet, hockey player
- Constant Huret, cyclist
- Olivier Jacque, motorcycle rider
- Rene Jacquot, boxer, underdog who became world champion
- Laurent Jalabert, cyclist
- Max Jean, Formula One driver
- Brian Joubert, figure skater
- Natan Jurkovitz (born 1995), French-Swiss-Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
K–Z
- Tidjan Keita (born 1996), French-Guinean basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Jean-Claude Killy (born 1943), skier
- Raymond Kopa, football player
- Pascal Lavanchy, ice dancer (with Sophie Moniotte)
- Suzanne Lenglen, tennis player
- Alexander Lévy (born 1990), American-born professional golfer
- Alexandre Lippmann (1881–1960), épée fencer, two-time Olympic champion, two-time silver, bronze
- Bixente Lizarazu, football player
- Sébastien Loeb (born 1974), rally driver and five-time champion
- Jeannie Longo, cyclist
- Mickaël Madar (born 1968), footballer
- André Mahé, cyclist
- Claude Makélélé, football player
- Laure Manaudou, swimmer
- Amélie Mauresmo, tennis player
- Kylian Mbappé, football player
- Jacques Mayol, freediver
- Jose Meiffret, cyclist
- Éric Millot, figure skater
- Alain Mimoun, athlete
- Sophie Moniotte, ice dancer (with Pascal Lavanchy)
- Carole Montillet, skier
- Armand Mouyal (1925–1988), épée fencer, Olympic bronze, world champion
- Moustapha N'Diaye (born 1984), basketball player
- Alfred "Artem" Nakache (1915–1983), swimmer, world record (200 m breaststroke), one-third of French two-time world record (3x100 relay team)
- Claude Netter (1924–2007), foil fencer, Olympic champion, silver
- Hellé Nice, pioneer female race car driver
- Joakim Noah, NBA basketball player (Chicago Bulls)
- Yannick Noah, tennis player
- Jacques Ochs (1883–1971), French-born Belgian artist and Olympic fencing champion
- Esteban Ocon, Formula One driver
- Micheline Ostermeyer, Olympic champion in discus and shot put, bronze in high jump
- Frédéric Ouvret (born 1970), former professional footballer
- Simon Pagenaud, Indy car driver[5]
- Tony Parker, Belgian-born French citizen, basketball player
- Gwendal Peizerat, ice dancer
- Marie-José Pérec, athlete
- Mary Pierce, Canadian-born French citizen, tennis player
- Stéphane Peterhansel, car and motor racer, nine-time Dakar Rally winner
- Julien Pillet, fencer
- Michel Platini, football player
- Alain Prost, Formula One driver and four-time champion
- Antoine Rigaudeau, basketball player
- Arthur Rozenfeld (born 1995), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- François Rozenthal (born 1975), ice hockey player
- Maurice Rozenthal (born 1975), ice hockey player
- Georges Stern (1882–1928), jockey
- Jean Stern (1875–1962), épée fencer, Olympic champion
- Léon Théry, race car driver
- Marcel Thil, world-champion boxer
- Christophe Tiozzo, world-champion boxer; brother of Fabrice Tiozzo
- Fabrice Tiozzo, world-champion boxer; brother of Christophe Tiozzo
- David Trezeguet, football player
- Tristan Vautier, Indy car driver
- Patrick Vieira, Senegal-born French citizen, football player
- Richard Virenque, Morocco-born French citizen, cyclist
- Roger Walkowiak, cyclist
- Jean-Pierre Wimille, race car driver
- Albert Wolff (1906–1989), French-born American Olympic fencer
- Zinedine Zidane, football player
Authors
A–E
- Carole Achache
- Marcel Achard
- Alain-Fournier
- Mathilde Alanic, novelist, short story writer
- Olivier Ameisen
- Alix André, romance novelist
- Jean Anouilh, 20th-century dramatist
- Guillaume Apollinaire
- Louis Aragon
- Marie Célestine Amélie d'Armaillé, writer, biographer, and historian
- Antonin Artaud
- Marcel Aymé
- Jean-Louis Baghio'o
- Honoré de Balzac, realist author
- Henri Barbusse
- Charles Baudelaire, 19th-century poet
- Pierre Beaumarchais, comedy playwright
- Simone de Beauvoir, 20th-century author
- Dany Bébel-Gisler
- Cyrano de Bergerac
- Jean Bernabé
- Georges Bernanos
- Tristan Bernard
- Maurice Blanchot
- Stella Blandy
- Antoine Blondin
- Nicolas Boileau
- Lucie Boissonnas, 19th-century author
- Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
- Pierre Boulle
- Fernand Braudel
- André Breton
- Retif de la Bretonne
- Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
- Michel Butor
- existentialistauthor
- Marie-Magdeleine Carbet
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline, 20th-century author
- Blaise Cendrars
- Aimé Césaire, 20th-century poet
- Nicolas Chamfort
- Patrick Chamoiseau
- René Char, 20th-century poet
- Victorine Chastenay
- François-René de Chateaubriand
- Amélie Chekroun, historian[6]
- Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
- Emil Cioran
- Fanny Clar, journalist and author
- Paul Claudel
- Jean Cocteau, 20th-century poet and playwright
- Colette, 20th-century author
- Henri Collomb, psychiatrist
- Joséphine Colomb, 19th-century children's writer
- Maryse Condé
- Raphaël Confiant
- Benjamin Constant
- Tristan Corbière
- Pierre Corneille, classicist playwright
- Marquis de Custine, travel writer
- Jean-Marie Dallet
- Joseph Dallois
- Myriam David, psychoanalyst
- Jeanine Delpech, journalist, translator, novelist
- Robert Desnos, 20th-century poet
- Gisèle d'Estoc, writer, sculptor, and feminist
- Charles Dezobry, historian and historical novelist
- Denis Diderot
- Clotilde Dissard, journalist and feminist
- Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, novelist
- Alexandre Dumas, père, author
- Alexandre Dumas, fils, playwright/author
- Marguerite Duras, 20th-century novelist
- Vanessa Duriès
- Paul Éluard
- Salvat Etchart
F–O
- Frantz Fanon, 20th-century author, psychiatrist
- Léon-Paul Fargue
- Georges Feydeau
- Marc Ferro
- Amanda Filipacchi, novelist (French and U.S. citizenship, writes in English)
- Alain Finkielkraut, essayist
- Gustave Flaubert, realist author
- Anatole France
- Marie de France, poet
- Romain Gary
- Jean Genet
- André Gide, Nobel Prize winner
- Jean Giono
- Jean Giraudoux
- Françoise Giroud
- Édouard Glissant
- Edmond de Goncourt, writer, critic, and founder of the Académie Goncourt
- Julien Gracq
- Julien Green
- Pierre Guyotat
- Nahema Hanafi, historian
- Jean-Edern Hallier
- Juliette Heuzey, novelist, biographer
- Auguste Himly, historian
- Victor Hugo, novelist, poet, and playwright
- Joris-Karl Huysmans
- Eugène Ionesco
- Martine L. Jacquot
- Marie-Reine de Jaham
- Alain Jouffroy, poet, art critic, plastician
- Fabienne Kanor
- Jean de La Bruyère
- Jean de La Fontaine
- Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
- Comte de Lautréamont (Isidore Ducasse)
- parnassianpoet
- Alphonse de Lamartine
- Jacques Lacan, psychoanalyst
- Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, historian
- Paul Lafargue
- Jules Laforgue
- Valéry Larbaud
- Maurice Leblanc, created Arsène Lupin
- Marie Léra, journalist, novelist, and translator
- Le Mystère de la chambre jaune (The Mystery of the Yellow Room) and author of Le Fantôme de l'Opéra(The Phantom of the Opera)
- Pauline de Lézardière, 18th-century historian
- Stéphane Mallarmé, poet
- Hector Malot, 19th-century author
- André Malraux
- Matthieu Marais, 18th-century lawyer and writer
- Marcel Marceau, 20th-century mime (and member of the French Resistance in World War II)
- René Maran
- Pierre de Marivaux, playwright
- Clément Marot, poet
- Guy de Maupassant, novelist
- Roman Catholicwriter
- Daniel Maximin
- Prosper Mérimée, 19th-century novelist
- Catherine Millet, art expert, editor and erotic memoirist
- Patrick Modiano
- Jean Baptiste Poquelin dit Molière, 17th-century comedic playwright and actor
- Alfred de Musset, 19th-century poet
- Claire Julie de Nanteuil, 19th-century writer
- Gérard de Nerval
- Paul Niger
- Anaïs Nin
- Mona Ozouf, historian
P–Z
- Marcel Pagnol
- Gisela Pankow, psychoanalyst
- Ève Paul-Margueritte, novelist
- Lucie Paul-Margueritte, writer and translator
- Charles Péguy, 20th-century poet
- Charles Perrault, Mother Goose Tales
- Georges Perec
- Saint-John Perse
- Roger Peyrefitte
- Jean Piaget, psychologist
- Jean Piat
- Gisèle Pineau
- Christine de Pizan, historian, poet, philosopher
- Jacques Prévert, 20th-century poet
- Abbé Prévost
- Marcel Prévost
- Marcel Proust, novelist
- Raymond Queneau
- François Rabelais, Renaissance writer
- Raymond Radiguet
- Jean Racine, classicist playwright
- Pauline Réage, novelist
- Gabrielle Réval, novelist and essayist
- Arthur Rimbaud, symbolist poet
- Alain Robbe-Grillet
- Pierre de Ronsard
- neo-romanticplaywright
- Raymond Roussel
- Maximilien Rubel
- Marquis de Sade, erotic and philosophic author
- Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
- feministauthor
- Jean-Paul Sartre, 20th-century existentialist philosopher
- Nathalie Sarraute
- André Schwarz-Bart
- Simone Schwarz-Bart
- Pierre Seel, homosexual survivor of the concentration camps, activist, author
- Victor Segalen
- Madame de Sévigné
- Audrey Spiry
- Madame de Staël
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author and aviator
- Claude Simon
- Stendhal, novelist (born Henry Beyle)
- Alain Tasso, poet, painter, essayist, art critic, literary critic
- Raphaël Tardon
- Guy Tirolien
- François Truffaut, 20th-century filmmaker
- Paul Valéry, 20th-century poet
- Vercors, pseudonym of Jean Bruller
- Paul Verlaine, symbolist poet
- Jules Verne, novelist
- Boris Vian, 20th-century author
- Alfred de Vigny, 19th-century poet
- Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
- François Villon
- Voltaire
- Myriam Warner-Vieyra
- Marguerite Yourcenar
- Joseph Zobel
- Émile Zola, naturalist author
Aviators
- Clément Ader
- Jacqueline Auriol
- Louis Blériot
- Henri Farman
- René Fonck
- Roland Garros, first to cross the Mediterranean; French Open is named after him.
- Georges Guynemer
- Raymonde de Laroche
- Hubert Latham
- Léon Lemartin
- Marie Marvingt
- Jean Mermoz
- Les Frères Robert, balloonists Anne-Jean Robert and Nicolas-Louis Robert
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author and aviator
- André Turcat
- Gabriel Voisin
Business
- Bernard Arnault (born 1949), entrepreneur
- Marie-Claude Beaud (born 1946), museumist
- Liliane Bettencourt, cosmetics
- Marcel Bich (1914–1994), Bic pens
- Vincent Bolloré (born 1952), transportation and engineering
- Marcel Boussac, textiles, fashion, newspapers, race horse breeding
- Anne Bouverot (born 1966), telecommunications business executive
- Ettore Bugatti (1881–1947), automobile manufacturer
- André Citroën (1878–1935), automobile manufacturer
- Adolphe Clément-Bayard (1855–1928), transportation manufacturer
- Marcel Dassault (1892–1986), aviation
- Alexandre Darracq (1855–1931), automotive pioneer
- Claude Dauphin (1951–2015), commodities trader
- Pierre Dauzier (1939–2007), businessman, former president of Havas
- Louis Delâge (1874–1947), automotive pioneer
- Émile Delahaye (1843–1905), automotive pioneer
- Gérard Louis-Dreyfus (1932–2016), agricultural commodities
- Eleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (1771–1834), founder of DuPont
- Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817), entrepreneur
- Jacques Foccart (1913–1997), import-export
- Léon Gaumont, pioneer film inventor
- Paul-Louis Halley (1934–2004), supermarket tycoon
- Max Hymans (1900–1961), aviation
- Jean-Marie Messier (born 1957), former Vivendi CEO
- Gérard Mestrallet (born 1949), chairman and CEO of Suez
- Gérard Mulliez, entrepreneur
- Iliad
- Charles Pathé, film industry pioneer
- Armand Peugeot (1849–1915), automobile manufacturer
- François Pinault (born 1936), entrepreneur
- Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont (1726–1803), shipping magnate and a "Father of the American Revolution"
- Marcel Renault (1872–1903), co-founder of automobile manufacturer Renault[7]
- César Ritz, hotelier
- James Mayer de Rothschild (1792–1868), banker
- Philippe de Rothschild (1902–1988), winemaker
- Jeanne de La Saulcée (died 1559), Lyon publisher, printer, bookseller
- Eugène Schueller (1881–1954), founder of L'Oréal
- Bernard Tapie (1943–2021), entrepreneur
- Pierre Vidoue (c. 1490–1543), Parisian printer and bookseller
Chefs
- Raymond Blanc
- Paul Bocuse
- Daniel Boulud
- Michel Bras
- Pascal Caffet
- Marie-Antoine Carême
- Alain Ducasse
- Adolphe Dugléré
- Auguste Escoffier
- Pierre Gagnaire
- Michel Guérard
- Victor Hirtzler
- Marc Lanteri
- Ludovic Lefebvre
- Jacques Pépin
- Georges Perrier
- Fernand Point
- Charles Ranhofer
- Eric Ripert
- Joël Robuchon
- Albert Roux
- Michel Roux
- Michel Roux, Jr.
- Julien Royer
- Guy Savoy
- Paul Thalamas
- François Vatel
- Marc Veyrat
- Jean-Georges Vongerichten
- Philippe Etchebest
- Hélène Darroze
- Paul Pairet
- Michel Sarran
Colonial administrators
- Félix Éboué, Governor General of French Equatorial Africa
- Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, French Congo
- Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, Louisiana
- Samuel de Champlain, New France
- François Caron, first Governor of French territories of India
- François Martin, Governor for French territories in India
- Pierre Christoph Le Noir, Governor for French territories in India
- Pierre Benoît Dumas, Governor for French territories in India
- Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, French naval officer and administrator, in the service of the French East India Company.
- Joseph François Dupleix, Governor for French territories in India
- Lally-Tollendal, Governor for French territories in India
- Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau, Governor for French territories in India
- Louis Faidherbe, Senegal
- Joseph Gallieni, Madagascar
- Francis Garnier, French Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos)
- Émile Gentil, French Congo
- Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey, Algeria
- Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, Louisiana
- Jean Talon, Canada
Composers
Craftspeople and inventors
- André Charles Boulle, cabinet maker
- Louis Braille, blind inventor
- Charles Cros, poet and inventor
- Paul Héroult, inventor
- Claude de Jouffroy d'Abbans, designed the first steamship in 1783
- René François Lacôte, luthier
- René Lalique, glass designer
- Marie-Anne Leroudier, embroiderer
- Auguste and Louis Lumière, inventors
- Benoît Raclet, inventor
- Philippe Starck, industrial architect and designer
- Franky Zapata, inventor of flyboard and flyboard Air
Criminals
For
collaboration with Nazi Germany
see also the politicians section.
- Jacques de Bernonville (1897–1972), war criminal sentenced to death
- Jules Bonnot
- Émile Louis
- Henri Désiré Landru, serial killer
- Jacques Mesrine
- Zacarias Moussaoui
- Maurice Papon, politician and war criminal
- Marcel Petiot, serial killer
- Gilles de Rais, prolific serial killer
- Jean-Claude Romand, murderer
- Albert Spaggiari
- Charles Sobhraj, killer
- Paul Touvier, one of only two Frenchmen to be convicted of crimes against humanity
Dancers
Economists
- Antoine Augustin Cournot
- Maurice Allais, Nobel Prize
- Raymond Barre, economist and politician
- Frédéric Bastiat
- Fernand Braudel
- Alexandre Cazeau de Roumillac
- Jules Dupuit
- Gérard Debreu, Nobel memorial prize 1983
- Charles Gide
- Dominique Guellec
- Achille-Nicolas Isnard, political economist and engineer
- Jean-Jacques Laffont
- Pierre Émile Levasseur
- Alain Lipietz, green economist
- Bernard Maris
- Thomas Piketty
- Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours
- François Quesnay
- Pascal Salin
- Jean-Baptiste Say
- Jean Tirole
- Turgot
- Léon Walras
Fashion
- Christian Audigier, fashion designer and business man
- Liliane Bettencourt, majority owner of L'Oréal, one of the wealthiest people in Europe
- Pierre Cardin, fashion designer
- Laetitia Casta, model
- Coco Chanel, fashion designer
- Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
- Hubert de Givenchy
- Inès de La Fressange, model and fashion designer
- Christian Dior, fashion designer
- Morgane Dubled, model
- Julien Fournié
- Jean Paul Gaultier
- Daniel Hechter, inventor of ready-to-wear
- Christian Lacroix
- Jeanne Lanvin, fashion designer
- Noémie Lenoir, model
- Christian Louboutin, shoe designer
- Iris Mittenaere, model, Miss France 2016 and Miss Universe 2016[8][9]
- Jennifer Messelier, model
- Claude Montana
- Thierry Mugler
- Paul Poiret
- Nina Ricci, fashion designer
- Sonia Rykiel
- Yves Saint Laurent, fashion designer
- Hedi Slimane
- Louis Vuitton, fashion designer
Filmmakers
- Mona Achache
- Olivier Assayas
- Jacques Audiard
- Jacques Becker
- Jean-Jacques Beineix
- Luc Besson
- Yves Billon
- Alice Guy-Blaché
- Bertrand Blier
- Patrick Bokanowski
- Bertrand Bonello
- Martin Bourboulon
- Catherine Breillat
- Robert Bresson
- Laurent Cantet
- Yves Caumon
- André Cayatte
- Claude Chabrol
- Jean-Paul Civeyrac
- René Clair
- René Clément
- Henri-Georges Clouzot
- Jean Cocteau
- Romain Cogitore
- Fabien Cousteau
- Jacques Cousteau
- Jacques Demy
- Claire Denis
- Arnaud Desplechin
- Henri Diamant-Berger
- Abel Gance
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Michel Gondry
- Michel Hazanavicius
- Vanessa Filho
- Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- Mathieu Kassovitz
- Jan Kounen
- Patrice Leconte
- Claude Lelouch
- Philippe Lioret
- Teddy Lussi-Modeste
- Louis Malle
- André Malraux
- Georges Méliès
- Jean-Pierre Melville
- Maurice Pialat
- Jean Renoir
- Alain Resnais
- Jacques Rivette
- Yves Robert
- Éric Rohmer
- Jean Rollin
- Alain Sarde
- Claude Sautet
- Ramzi Ben Sliman
- Straub-Huillet
- Jacques Tati
- Jacques Tourneur
- Maurice Tourneur
- François Truffaut
- Roger Vadim
- Agnès Varda
- Flore Vasseur
- Jean Vigo
Humorists
- Alain Chabat
- Coluche
- Pierre Dac, humorist and Resistance worker
- Jamel Debbouze
- Pierre Desproges
- Raymond Devos
- Gad Elmaleh
- Florence Foresti
- Thierry Le Luron
- Dieudonné M'bala M'bala
- Elie Semoun
- Cabu
- Stef and Jim
Military leaders
Monarchs and royals
Musicians
A–J
- Dominique A
- Air (band)
- Alizée
- Charles Aznavour
- Josephine Baker, American-born entertainer
- Thomas Bangalter, member of Daft Punk
- Jane Bathori, opera singer
- Barbara
- Guy Béart
- Bénabar
- Carla Bruni
- Michel Berger
- Didier Bocquet
- Pierre Bouvier
- Lucienne Boyer
- Georges Brassens
- Breakbot
- Aristide Bruant
- Julie Budet
- Manu Chao
- Sébastien Charlier
- Matthieu Chedid
- Richard Clayderman, pianist
- Chuck Comeau
- Marie-Anne Couperin
- Dalida
- Damia
- Claude Debussy
- David Desrosiers
- Natalie Dessay, opera singer
- Dimitri from Paris
- Sacha Distel, heartthrob: covered "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"
- Marie Dubas
- Jacques Dutronc
- Kenza Farah
- Mylène Farmer
- Jean Ferrat
- Léo Ferré
- Nino Ferrer
- Thomas Fersen
- Claude François, popular singer during the 1960s and 1970s
- Fréhel
- Charlotte Gainsbourg
- Serge Gainsbourg
- France Gall
- Laurent Garnier
- Gipsy Kings
- Georgius
- Gesaffelstein
- Jean-Jacques Goldman
- Stéphane Grappelli, jazz musician
- Juliette Gréco
- Gribouille (born Marie-France Gaîté)
- Hélène Grimaud, classical pianist
- David Guetta, house-music producer and DJ
- Yvette Guilbert
- Arthur H
- David Hallyday
- Johnny Hallyday, born in Belgium, served in the French Army
- Françoise Hardy
- Jacques Higelin
- Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, member of Daft Punk
- Indila
- Sébastien Izambard, member of the quartet Il Divo
- IAM
- Joëlle
- Justice (band)
K–Z
- Patricia Kaas
- Kaoma
- Kassav'
- Kavinsky
- Rina Ketty
- Kiki, "Queen of Montparnasse"
- La Goulue
- Larusso
- Boby Lapointe
- Bernard Lavilliers
- Maxime Le Forestier
- Sébastien Lefebvre
- Gérard Lenorman
- Nolwenn Leroy
- Lilly Wood and the Prick
- Claudine Longet
- Didier Lucchesi
- Sheryfa Luna
- M83
- Madeon
- Christophe Maé
- Mano Negra
- Luis Mariano
- Anna Marly
- Alain Marion
- Didier Marouani, musician and composer
- Mireille Mathieu
- Félix Mayol
- Miossec
- Mireille
- Mistinguett
- Ginette Neveu
- Yannick Noah
- Claude Nougaro
- Vincent Niclo
- NTM
- Noir Désir
- Vanessa Paradis
- Pierre Perret
- Michel Petrucciani
- Édith Piaf
- Michel Polnareff
- Lily Pons, opera singer (naturalized as a United States citizen in 1940)
- Rene Rancourt
- Renaud
- Tino Rossi
- Jean Sablon
- Sebastian
- David Serero
- Bob Sinclar
- Skip the Use
- Alain Souchon
- Mano Solo
- Jeff Stinco
- Sébastien Tellier
- Yann Tiersen
- Charles Trenet
- Christian Vander
- Sylvie Vartan
- Boris Vian
- Pauline Viardot, opera singer and composer
- Pedro Winter
- Zazie
Philosophers
- Pierre Abélard
- Louis Althusser
- Raymond Aron, sociologist and philosopher
- Jean le Rond d'Alembert
- Gaston Bachelard
- Georges Bataille
- Roland Barthes
- Jean Baudrillard, philosopher and sociologist
- Pierre Bourdieu, sociologist
- Julien Benda
- Henri Bergson
- Louis de Bonald
- Émile Boutroux
- Fabienne Brugère
- Michel de Certeau
- François-René de Chateaubriand
- Auguste Comte
- André Comte-Sponville
- Jean de Crèvecœur
- Guy Debord
- Gilles Deleuze
- Natalie Depraz
- Jacques Derrida
- René Descartes, scientist and philosopher
- Enlightenmentauthor and deist philosopher
- Frantz Fanon
- Michel Foucault
- Camille Froidevaux-Metterie
- Édouard Glissant
- Félix Guattari
- René Guénon
- Vladimir Jankélévitch
- Étienne de La Boétie, philosopher and politician
- Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe
- Félicité de Lamennais
- Henri Lefèbvre
- Marcel Légaut, Christian philosopher
- Jean de Léry, corsaire and ethnologist, anti-racism activist
- Emmanuel Lévinas
- Jean-François Lyotard
- Joseph de Maistre
- Nicolas Malebranche
- Gabriel Marcel, philosopher
- Jacques Maritain, philosopher
- Maurice Merleau-Ponty, phenomenologist
- Michel de Montaigne, philosopher essayist
- Montesquieu, political philosopher
- Edgar Morin
- Emmanuel Mounier, philosopher
- Jean-Luc Nancy, philosopher
- Blaise Pascal, scientist, mathematician, Christian philosopher, and author
- Juliette Rennes, sociologist
- Jean-François Revel
- Paul Ricœur
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Jean-Paul Sartre, existentialist philosopher
- Michel Serres
- Hippolyte Taine
- Alexis de Tocqueville
- agnosticphilosopher
- Éric Weil, philosopher
- Simone Weil
Politicians
- Robert Badinter, lawyer, statesman and anti-death-sentence activist
- François Bayrou, UDF party leader
- Léon Blum, politician, Socialist party leader, prime minister
- José Bové, anti-globalization activist, altermondialist
- Aristide Briand
- Jacques Chirac, politician, member of center-right wing party, former city mayor of Paris, two-term French president
- Georges Clemenceau
- Gaspard de Coligny
- Bertrand Delanoë, mayor of Paris
- Jacques Delors
- Félix Faure, President of France who died of a heart attack while making love to his mistress
- Free French Forces, French president
- Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
- François Guizot, Prime Minister
- Gisèle Halimi, lawyer and feminist activist
- François Hollande, former PS (Socialist Party) leader, former French president (15 May 2012 – 14 May 2017)
- Jean Jaurès, politician, pacifist
- Lionel Jospin, socialist, former prime minister
- Bernard Kouchner, founder of Médecins du Monde
- Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the extreme right party in France, Front National, presidential candidate
- Concours Lépine
- Émile Loubet, President of France who was elected in 1899, after the death of Félix Faure
- Henri-Auguste Lozé, Paris police chief, senator of the Third Republic
- Emmanuel Macron, founder and current President of Renaissance, current President of France (from 14 May 2017)
- Jean-Paul Marat, politician during the Revolution, journalist, physician, scientist
- Jean-Claude Martinez, lawyer and European deputy
- Pierre Mendès France, lawyer and statesman, prime minister
- Honoré Mirabeau
- François Mitterrand, lawyer and statesman, president
- Jean Monnet
- Philippe Pétain, head of Vichy France
- Alexandre de Prouville, Viceroy of New France
- Marthe Richard
- Maximilien Robespierre, statesman and major figure in the French Revolution
- Gilberte Roca (1911–2004), Communist
- Jacques Rolland (1914–1999), politician
- Ségolène Royal, politician, Socialist party, presidential candidate
- Nicolas Sarkozy, politician, President of the right wing party
- Victor Schœlcher, anti-slavery activist
- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
- Maurice Thorez
- Jacques Toubon
- Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister of France
- Dominique Voynet, physician and Green party politician
Popes
Resistance workers
Resistance workers during the
German occupation of France in World War II
- Lucie Samuel-Aubrac (1912–2007), human rights activist
- Raymond Aubrac (1914–2012), statesman
- Robert Benoist (1895–1944), SOE operative, champion race car driver
- Denise Bloch (1915–1945), SOE operative: King's Commendation for Brave Conduct, Legion of Honor, French Resistance Medal
- Andrée Borrel (1919–1944), SOE operative: Croix de guerre
- Bernadette Cattanéo (1899–1963), trade unionist and communist activist
- Madeleine Damerment (1917–1944), SOE operative: Legion of Honor, Croix de guerre, Médaille combattant volontaire de la Résistance
- Marie Louise Dissard (1880–1957), U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedomrecipient
- William Grover-Williams (1903–1945), SOE operative, champion race car driver
- Aimée Lallement (1898–1988), Righteous Among the Nations
- Cecily Lefort (1900–1945), SOE operative: Croix de guerre
- Pierre Mendès France (1907–1982), lawyer, statesman
- Jean Moulin (1899–1943), statesman
- Agnès de La Barre de Nanteuil (1922–1944), assisted allied airmen
- Abbé Pierre (1912–2007), priest and founder of Emmaus
- Christian Pineau (1904–1995), statesman
- Eliane Plewman (1917–1944), SOE operative: Croix de guerre
- Righteous among the Nations
- Élise Rivet (1890–1945), nun executed by Nazis for aiding the resistance
- Lilian Rolfe (1914–1945), SOE agent executed by the Nazis
- Odette Sansom (1912–1995), SOEoperative: George Cross, MBE, Legion of Honor
- Suzanne Spaak, Belgian-born agent: "Red Orchestra" intelligence network; executed 1944
- Violette Szabo (1921–1945), SOE operative: George Cross, Croix de guerre
- Jean-Pierre Wimille (1908–1949), SOE operative, champion race car driver
- See also French Resistance
Scientists
Social activists
- Hubertine Auclert, journalist and feminist leader
- Simone de Beauvoir, author, philosopher, and feminist
- Christian de Boisredon, social activist
- Geneviève de Brunelle, counter-revolutionary
- Sophie de Condorcet, feminist
- Maria Deraismes, feminist
- Camille Drevet, anti-colonialist, feminist and pacifist activist
- Marguerite Durand, journalist and feminist leader
- Anna Féresse-Deraismes feminist activist
- Olympe de Gouges, feminist
- Floresca Guépin, feminist and teacher
- Alice Jouenne, educator and socialist activist
- Samir Kassir, journalist
- Jean Théophile Victor Leclerc, radical revolutionist, newspaper publisher
- Marie Léopold-Lacour, feminist activist, writer, and storyteller
- Félix Pécaut, education proponent and pastor
- Gabrielle Petit, feminist activist, anticlerical, libertarian socialist, newspaper editor
- Élisabeth Renaud, teacher, socialist activist, feminist
- Colette Reynaud, feminist, socialist, pacifist, journalist
- Victor Schœlcher, abolitionist
- Pierre Seel, homosexual concentration camp survivor, activist, author
- Séverine, feminist
- Madeleine Tribolati (1905–1995), trade unionist
- Flora Tristan, feminist
Soldiers
- Joan of Arc, commander and saint
- Chevalier Bayard
- François Achille Bazaine
- Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte
- Georges Boulanger
- Thomas Robert Bugeaud
- Raymond H. A. Carter
- François de Charette
- Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, known as le Grand Condé.
- Gaspard de Coligny
- François Darlan
- Louis-Nicolas Davout
- Bob Denard
- Alfred Dreyfus
- Charles François Dumouriez
- Ferdinand Foch
- Louis Franchet d'Espèrey
- Joseph Gallieni
- Maurice Gamelin
- Henri Gouraud
- Bertrand du Guesclin
- Joseph Joffre
- Edmond Jouhaud
- Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
- Alphonse Juin
- Marie-Pierre Kœnig
- Jacques de la Palice
- Marquis de Lafayette
- Charles Leclerc
- Jean Lannes
- Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
- Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque
- François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg
- Hubert Lyautey
- Patrice MacMahon
- Charles Mangin
- Claude Martin
- André Masséna
- Jacques Massu
- Louis-Joseph de Montcalm
- Simon de Montfort
- Philippe Morillon
- Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte
- Joachim Murat
- Michel Ney
- Robert Nivelle
- Philippe Pétain
- Comte de Rochambeau
- Raoul Salan
- Maurice Sarrail
- Nicolas Soult
- Louis Jules Trochu
- Henri de Turenne
- Étienne de Vignolles, called La Hire
- Claude Louis Hector de Villars
- Maxime Weygand
Spationauts
Theologians
O.P. (Ordo Praedicatorum) is the abbreviation used to indicate that someone is/was a member of the
Catholic religious order
.
S.J. (Societas Iesu) is the abbreviation used to indicate that someone is/was a member of the Catholic
religious order.
- Jean Arnauld, philosopher and theologian
- Denis Bérardier, priest and theologian
- Marie-Émile Boismard O.P.
- Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
- Jean Calvin
- Sebastian Castellio, translator of the Bible
- Pierre Cauchon, condemned Joan of Arc
- Robert Ciboule, Roman Catholic theologian
- Bernard of Clairvaux
- Jean Claude
- Yves Congar, O.P.
- Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.
- Hubert Languet
- Maurice Leenhardt, ethnologist, theologian
- Jean Louail, theologian
- André Paul, scholar in the fields of theology, biblical studies and ancient Judaism
- François Picquet, 18th-century missionary in New France
- Jean Porthaise, theologian
- Alexander de RhodesS.J., 17th-century missionary to Indochina
- Richard of Saint-Laurent, canon at Rouen
- Auguste Sabatier
- Antonin Sertillanges O.P., founder of the Revue Thomiste
- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin S.J.
- Simon-Michel Treuvé
Others
- Marie-Louise Arconati-Visconti (1840–1923), art collector, philanthropist
- Fabrice Balanche, geographer
- Marcel Bardiaux, sailor
- Suzanne Borel, first French woman diplomat
- Jeanne Calment, title claimant for the longest documented human lifespan – 122 years and 164 days
- Pierre de Coubertin, initiator of the modern Olympic Games
- The Countess, transgender courtesan, demimondaine, singer, artist, and writer
- Jean Crépin, Army general
- François Louis Castelnaux Darrac, upholsterer
- Solange d'Ayen, noblewoman and journalist
- Ninon de l'Enclos, courtesan, patron of the arts
- Cavalier de la Salle, explorer
- Maurice Debesse, educator
- Suzanne Deutsch de la Meurthe, philanthropist, aviation supporter
- René Dumont, agronomist engineer and sociologist and ecology activist
- Jules Dumont d'Urville
- Maurice Duverger, jurist
- Gustave Eiffel, engineer
- Pierre Charles L'Enfant, city planner responsible for Washington, D.C.
- Charles-Michel de l'Épée, founder of world's first public school for deaf people
- Norbert Ferré, illusionist
- Robert Gloton, educator
- Arthur de Gobineau, diplomat, author of An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races
- Lucie Grange, medium and feminist prophet
- Marie de Hennezel, psychologist, psychotherapist and writer
- Daniel Le Hirbec, navigator
- Louis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds, explorer and canal engineer
- Marie-Antoinette Lix, governess and resistance fighter
- Brigitte Macron, high school teacher, first lady of France
- Virginie Mauvais, educator, philanthropist
- Philippe Méaille, contemporary art collector
- Montgolfier brothers, balloonists
- François Henri de la Motte, French spy executed for treason 1781 in London
- Nostradamus, physician, author, translator, astrological consultant
- Charles François Adrien le Paulmier, diplomat, nobleman, and slaveholder
- Anne Quemere, sailor and sportswoman
- Jean-Marie Raoul, lawyer, musician
- Élisée Reclus, geographer and anarchist
- Jean-François Ricard (born 1956), prosecutor of the French National Terrorism Prosecution Office
- Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, magician, namesake of "Harry Houdini"
- Pierre Seel, homosexual survivor of the concentration camps, activist, author
- Odette Teissier du Cros (1906–1997), ethnologist, museum curator
- Vauban, engineer
- Eugène François Vidocq, French convict-turned-spy considered the father of modern forensics
See also
References
- ISBN 0-7710-2755-9. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
- ^ Spunder, Or (24 January 2008). הקשר ג'ונתן אסוס מועמד למכבי ת"א (in Hebrew). One.co.il. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
קשרה היהודי/צרפתי של ראים מהליגה ה-2 בצרפת עשוי להגיע להתרשמות במכבי.
- ^ "Jewish Australian kayaker Jessica Fox takes silver medal". 5 August 2012.
- ^ דיווחים בצרפת: מכבי ת"א מעוניינת ברודי חדד (in Hebrew). One.co.il. 7 July 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
האם הקשר היהודי, רודי חדד, בדרך למכבי תל-אביב?
- ^ "Simon Pagenaud becomes the first French driver to win Indianapolis 500 in more than a century". www.amp.cnn.com. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ^ Collège de Mediterranée. "Amélie Chekroun" (in French). Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ "The beginning – The history of Renault". www.group.renault.com. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ "Meet Miss France 2016". www.france24.com. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- ^ "Miss France beats Hati and Colombia to clinch Miss Universe title". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 30 January 2017.