List of French people
French people of note include:
Actors
Architects
Artists
Auguste Rodin
Painters
Photographers
Sculptors
Athletes
André the Giant Sarah Abitbol Jessica Fox
André the Giant , professional wrestlerTareq Abdesselem , KaratekaSarah Abitbol , pairs figure skater (with Stéphane Bernadis ); World Figure Skating Championship bronze[ 1] Tariq Abdul-Wahad (born Olivier Saint-Jean), basketball playerLuc Alphand , Alpine skierJacques Anquetil , cyclistJonathan Assous , France/Israel, defensive midfielder (Beitar Ramat Gan )[ 2] Fabien Barthez , football player and racing driverElliot Benchetrit , tennis playerBrice Blanc , jockeyMarion Bartoli , tennis playerFabrice Benichou , world-champion super bantamweight boxerStéphane Bernadis , pairs figure skater (with Sarah Abitbol )Alain Bernard , Olympic swimmerSerge Betsen , Cameroon -born French citizen, rugby playerSerge Blanco , Venezuela -born French citizen, rugby playerJean Bloch , Olympic silver football playerLouison Bobet , cyclistSurya Bonaly , figure skaterSébastien Bourdais , Indycar driverFrédéric Bourdillon (born 1991), French-Israeli basketball player in the Israel Basketball Premier League Andrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet , 1928 and 1932 Olympic skating gold medalistsJean-Luc Cairon (born 1962), gymnast and coachAlain Calmat , figure skater, Olympic silver, world championship gold, silver, two-time bronzePhilippe Candeloro , figure skaterEric Cantona , football playerGeorges Carpentier , world-champion boxerMarcel Cerdan , world-champion boxerFrançois Cevert (born François Goldenberg), Formula One driverEugène Christophe , cyclistAlbert Clément (c. 1878–1907), motor racing driverRobert Cohen , world-champion bantamweight boxerStéphanie Cohen-Aloro , tennis playerEugène Criqui , world-champion boxerJean Cruguet , jockey of Seattle Slew Richard Dacoury , basketball playerPierre Darmon , tennis player, highest world ranking # 8André Darrigade , cyclistMathieu Debuchy , football playerÉmile Delahaye , race car pioneerMarcel Desailly , Ghana -born French citizen, football playerAbou Diaby , football playerBoris Diaw , basketball playerDavid Douillet , judoka Yves Dreyfus , épée fencer, Olympic bronze medal, French championIsabelle Duchesnay and Paul Duchesnay , ice dancersAlojzy 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 trainerEvan Fournier , basketball playerLaurent Fignon , cyclistJeremy Flores , surferJust Fontaine , football playerJacques Fouroux , rugby union player and coachJessica Fox (born 1994), French-born Australian, slalom canoer , Olympic and world champion gold medalist[ 3] Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi , 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 coachPierre Gasly , racing driver currently competing in Formula One with Alpine F1 Team Camille du Gast , race car driverLucien Gaudin , fencerFabien Gilot , Olympic and world champion swimmerYoann Gourcuff , football playerStéphane Haccoun , boxerRudy Haddad , soccer midfielder (Hapoel Ashkelon & U21 national team)[ 4] Alphonse Halimi ("la Petite Terreur"), world-champion bantamweight boxerMarlène Harnois (born 1986), taekwondo practitionerThierry Henry , football playerBernard Hinault , cyclistJaylen Hoard (born 1999), French-American basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League Pierre Houseaux , triathleteCristobal Huet , hockey playerConstant Huret , cyclistOlivier Jacque , motorcycle riderRene Jacquot , boxer, underdog who became world championLaurent Jalabert , cyclistMax Jean , Formula One driverBrian Joubert , figure skaterNatan Jurkovitz (born 1995), French-Swiss-Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Alexander Lévy
Tidjan Keita (born 1996), French-Guinean basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League Jean-Claude Killy (born 1943), skierRaymond Kopa , football playerPascal Lavanchy , ice dancer (with Sophie Moniotte )Claude Legrand , skierSuzanne Lenglen , tennis playerAlexander Lévy (born 1990), American-born professional golferAlexandre Lippmann (1881–1960), épée fencer, two-time Olympic champion, two-time silver, bronzeBixente Lizarazu , football playerSébastien Loeb (born 1974), rally driver and five-time championJeannie Longo , cyclistMickaël Madar (born 1968), footballerAndré Mahé , cyclistClaude Makélélé , football playerLaure Manaudou , swimmerAmélie Mauresmo , tennis playerKylian Mbappé , football playerJacques Mayol , freediverJose Meiffret , cyclistÉric Millot , figure skaterAlain Mimoun , athleteSophie Moniotte , ice dancer (with Pascal Lavanchy )Carole Montillet , skierArmand Mouyal (1925–1988), épée fencer, Olympic bronze, world championMoustapha N'Diaye (born 1984), basketball playerAlfred "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, silverHellé Nice , pioneer female race car driverJoakim Noah , NBA basketball player (Chicago Bulls )Yannick Noah , tennis playerJacques Ochs (1883–1971), French-born Belgian artist and Olympic fencing championEsteban Ocon , Formula One driverMicheline Ostermeyer , Olympic champion in discus and shot put, bronze in high jumpFrédéric Ouvret (born 1970), former professional footballerSimon Pagenaud , Indy car driver[ 5] Tony Parker , Belgian-born French citizen, basketball playerGwendal Peizerat , ice dancerMarie-José Pérec , athleteMary Pierce , Canadian-born French citizen, tennis playerStéphane Peterhansel , car and motor racer, nine-time Dakar Rally winnerJulien Pillet , fencerMichel Platini , football playerAlain Prost , Formula One driver and four-time championAntoine Rigaudeau , basketball playerArthur Rozenfeld (born 1995), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League François Rozenthal (born 1975), ice hockey playerMaurice Rozenthal (born 1975), ice hockey playerGeorges Stern (1882–1928), jockeyJean Stern (1875–1962), épée fencer, Olympic championLéon Théry , race car driverMarcel Thil , world-champion boxerChristophe Tiozzo , world-champion boxer; brother of Fabrice Tiozzo Fabrice Tiozzo , world-champion boxer; brother of Christophe Tiozzo David Trezeguet , football playerTristan Vautier , Indy car driverPatrick Vieira , Senegal -born French citizen, football playerRichard Virenque , Morocco -born French citizen, cyclistRoger Walkowiak , cyclistJean-Pierre Wimille , race car driverAlbert Wolff (1906–1989), French-born American Olympic fencerZinedine Zidane , football player
Authors
David Abbasi Carole Achache Marcel Achard Alain-Fournier Mathilde Alanic , novelist, short story writerOlivier Ameisen Alix André , romance novelistJean Anouilh , 20th-century dramatistGuillaume Apollinaire Louis Aragon Marie Célestine Amélie d'Armaillé , writer, biographer, and historianAntonin Artaud Marcel Aymé Jean-Louis Baghio'o Honoré de Balzac , realist authorHenri Barbusse Charles Baudelaire , 19th-century poetPierre Beaumarchais , comedy playwrightSimone de Beauvoir , 20th-century authorDany Bébel-Gisler Cyrano de Bergerac Jean Bernabé Georges Bernanos Tristan Bernard Maurice Blanchot Stella Blandy Antoine Blondin Nicolas Boileau Lucie Boissonnas , 19th-century authorJacques-Bénigne Bossuet Pierre Boulle Fernand Braudel André Breton Retif de la Bretonne Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Michel Butor Albert Camus , existentialist authorMarie-Magdeleine Carbet Louis-Ferdinand Céline , 20th-century authorBlaise Cendrars Aimé Césaire , 20th-century poetNicolas Chamfort Patrick Chamoiseau René Char , 20th-century poetVictorine Chastenay François-René de Chateaubriand Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Emil Cioran Fanny Clar , journalist and authorPaul Claudel Jean Cocteau , 20th-century poet and playwrightColette , 20th-century authorHenri Collomb , psychiatristJoséphine Colomb , 19th-century children's writerMaryse Condé Raphaël Confiant Benjamin Constant Tristan Corbière Pierre Corneille , classicist playwrightMarquis de Custine , travel writerJean-Marie Dallet Joseph Dallois Myriam David , psychoanalystJeanine Delpech , journalist, translator, novelistRobert Desnos , 20th-century poetGisèle d'Estoc , writer, sculptor, and feministCharles Dezobry , historian and historical novelistDenis Diderot Clotilde Dissard , journalist and feministPierre Drieu La Rochelle , novelistAlexandre Dumas , père, authorAlexandre Dumas, fils , playwright/authorMarguerite Duras , 20th-century novelistVanessa Duriès Paul Éluard Salvat Etchart
Victor Hugo
Frantz Fanon , 20th-century author, psychiatristLéon-Paul Fargue Georges Feydeau Marc Ferro Amanda Filipacchi , novelist (French and U.S. citizenship, writes in English)Alain Finkielkraut , essayistGustave Flaubert , realist authorAnatole France Marie de France , poetRomain Gary Jean Genet André Gide , Nobel Prize winnerJean 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 , historianJean-Edern Hallier Juliette Heuzey , novelist, biographerAuguste Himly , historianVictor Hugo , novelist, poet, and playwrightJoris-Karl Huysmans Eugène Ionesco Martine L. Jacquot Marie-Reine de Jaham Alain Jouffroy , poet, art critic, plasticianFabienne Kanor Jean de La Bruyère Jean de La Fontaine Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Comte de Lautréamont (Isidore Ducasse) Leconte de Lisle , parnassian poetAlphonse de Lamartine Jacques Lacan , psychoanalystEmmanuel Le Roy Ladurie , historianPaul Lafargue Jules Laforgue Valery Larbaud Maurice Leblanc , created Arsène Lupin Clotilde Leguil , psychoanalyst and philosopher, university professorMarie Léra , journalist, novelist, and translatorGaston Leroux , journalist and author, credited with creating the locked room puzzle mystery novel 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 historianStéphane Mallarmé , poetHector Malot , 19th-century authorAndré Malraux Matthieu Marais , 18th-century lawyer and writerMarcel Marceau , 20th-century mime (and member of the French Resistance in World War II)René Maran Pierre de Marivaux , playwrightClément Marot , poetGuy de Maupassant , novelistFrançois Mauriac , Roman Catholic writerDaniel Maximin Prosper Mérimée , 19th-century novelistCatherine Millet , art expert, editor and erotic memoiristPatrick Modiano Jean Baptiste Poquelin dit Molière , 17th-century comedic playwright and actorAlfred de Musset , 19th-century poetClaire Julie de Nanteuil , 19th-century writerGérard de Nerval Paul Niger Anaïs Nin Mona Ozouf , historian
Marcel Pagnol Gisela Pankow , psychoanalystÈve Paul-Margueritte , novelistLucie Paul-Margueritte , writer and translatorCharles Péguy , 20th-century poetCharles Perrault , Mother Goose Tales Georges Perec Saint-John Perse Roger Peyrefitte Jean Piaget , psychologistJean Piat Gisèle Pineau Christine de Pizan , historian, poet, philosopherJacques Prévert , 20th-century poetAbbé Prévost Marcel Prévost Marcel Proust , novelistRaymond Queneau François Rabelais , Renaissance writerRaymond Radiguet Jean Racine , classicist playwrightPauline Réage , novelistGabrielle Réval , novelist and essayistArthur Rimbaud , symbolist poetAlain Robbe-Grillet Pierre de Ronsard Edmond Rostand , neo-romantic playwrightRaymond Roussel Maximilien Rubel Marquis de Sade , erotic and philosophic authorCharles Augustin Sainte-Beuve George Sand , feminist authorJean-Paul Sartre , 20th-century existentialist philosopherNathalie Sarraute André Schwarz-Bart Simone Schwarz-Bart Pierre Seel , homosexual survivor of the concentration camps, activist, authorVictor Segalen Madame de Sévigné Audrey Spiry Madame de Staël Antoine de Saint-Exupery , author and aviatorClaude Simon Stendhal , novelist (born Henry Beyle)Alain Tasso , poet, painter, essayist, art critic, literary criticRaphaël Tardon Guy Tirolien François Truffaut , 20th-century filmmakerPaul Valéry , 20th-century poetVercors , pseudonym of Jean BrullerPaul Verlaine , symbolist poetJules Verne , novelistBoris Vian , 20th-century authorAlfred de Vigny , 19th-century poetAuguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam François Villon Voltaire Myriam Warner-Vieyra Marguerite Yourcenar Joseph Zobel Émile Zola , naturalist author
Aviators
Business
Bernard Arnault (born 1949), entrepreneurMarie-Claude Beaud (born 1946), museumistLiliane Bettencourt , cosmeticsMarcel Bich (1914–1994), Bic pensVincent Bolloré (born 1952), transportation and engineeringMarcel Boussac , textiles, fashion, newspapers, race horse breedingAnne Bouverot (born 1966), telecommunications business executiveEttore Bugatti (1881–1947), automobile manufacturerAndré Citroën (1878–1935), automobile manufacturerAdolphe Clément-Bayard (1855–1928), transportation manufacturerMarcel Dassault (1892–1986), aviationAlexandre Darracq (1855–1931), automotive pioneerClaude Dauphin (1951–2015), commodities traderPierre Dauzier (1939–2007), businessman, former president of Havas Louis Delâge (1874–1947), automotive pioneerÉmile Delahaye (1843–1905), automotive pioneerGérard Louis-Dreyfus (1932–2016), agricultural commoditiesEleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours (1771–1834), founder of DuPont Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817), entrepreneurJacques Foccart (1913–1997), import-exportLéon Gaumont , pioneer film inventorPaul-Louis Halley (1934–2004), supermarket tycoonMax Hymans (1900–1961), aviationJean-Marie Messier (born 1957), former Vivendi CEOGérard Mestrallet (born 1949), chairman and CEO of Suez Gérard Mulliez , entrepreneurXavier Niel (born 1967), entrepreneur and businessman at Iliad Charles Pathé , film industry pioneerArmand Peugeot (1849–1915), automobile manufacturerFrançois Pinault (born 1936), entrepreneurBenoît Ramognino (born 1968), art dealer, design furniture and pop culture expertJacques-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 [ 6] César Ritz , hotelierJames Mayer de Rothschild (1792–1868), bankerPhilippe de Rothschild (1902–1988), winemakerEva Sadoun (birn 1980), social entrepreneurJeanne de La Saulcée (died 1559), Lyon publisher, printer, booksellerEugène Schueller (1881–1954), founder of L'Oréal Bernard Tapie (1943–2021), entrepreneurPierre Vidoue (c. 1490–1543), Parisian printer and bookseller
Chefs
Colonial administrators
Félix Éboué , Governor General of French Equatorial Africa Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza , French CongoAntoine de la Mothe Cadillac , LouisianaSamuel de Champlain , New France François Caron , first Governor of French territories of IndiaFrançois Martin , Governor for French territories in IndiaPierre Christoph Le Noir , Governor for French territories in IndiaPierre Benoît Dumas , Governor for French territories in IndiaBertrand-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 IndiaLally-Tollendal , Governor for French territories in IndiaMarquis de Bussy-Castelnau , Governor for French territories in IndiaLouis 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 makerLouis Braille , blind inventorCharles Cros , poet and inventorPaul Héroult , inventorClaude de Jouffroy d'Abbans , designed the first steamship in 1783René François Lacôte , luthierRené Lalique , glass designerMarie-Anne Leroudier , embroidererAuguste and Louis Lumière , inventorsYelken Octuri , industrial designerBenoît Raclet , inventorPhilippe Starck , industrial architect and designerFranky Zapata , inventor of flyboard and flyboard Air
Criminals
For collaboration with Nazi Germany see also the politicians section.
Dancers
Economists
Fashion
Christian Audigier , fashion designer and business manLiliane Bettencourt , majority owner of L'Oréal , one of the wealthiest people in EuropePierre Cardin , fashion designerLaetitia Casta , modelCoco Chanel , fashion designerJean-Charles de Castelbajac Hubert de Givenchy Inès de La Fressange , model and fashion designerChristian Dior , fashion designerMorgane Dubled , modelJulien Fournié Jean Paul Gaultier Daniel Hechter , inventor of ready-to-wearChristian Lacroix Jeanne Lanvin , fashion designerNoémie Lenoir , modelChristian Louboutin , shoe designerIris Mittenaere , model, Miss France 2016 and Miss Universe 2016 [ 7] [ 8] Jennifer Messelier , modelClaude Montana Thierry Mugler Paul Poiret Nina Ricci , fashion designerSonia Rykiel Yves Saint Laurent , fashion designerHedi Slimane Louis Vuitton , fashion designer
Filmmakers
Humorists
Military leaders
Monarchs and royals
Musicians
Dominique A Air (band) Alizée Charles Aznavour Josephine Baker , American-born entertainerThomas Bangalter , member of Daft Punk Jane Bathori , opera singerBarbara 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 , pianistChuck Comeau Marie-Anne Couperin Dalida Damia Claude Debussy David Desrosiers Natalie Dessay , opera singerDimitri 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 1970sFréhel Charlotte Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg France Gall Laurent Garnier Gipsy Kings Georgius Gesaffelstein Jean-Jacques Goldman Stéphane Grappelli , jazz musicianJuliette Gréco Gribouille (born Marie-France Gaîté)Hélène Grimaud , classical pianistDavid Guetta , house-music producer and DJYvette 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
Philosophers
Pierre Abélard Louis Althusser Raymond Aron , sociologist and philosopherJean le Rond d'Alembert Gaston Bachelard Georges Bataille Roland Barthes Jean Baudrillard , philosopher and sociologistPierre Bourdieu , sociologistJulien 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 philosopherDenis Diderot , Enlightenment author and deist philosopherFrantz Fanon Michel Foucault Camille Froidevaux-Metterie Édouard Glissant Félix Guattari René Guénon Vladimir Jankélévitch Étienne de La Boétie , philosopher and politicianPhilippe Lacoue-Labarthe Félicité de Lamennais Henri Lefèbvre Marcel Légaut , Christian philosopherJean de Léry , corsaire and ethnologist, anti-racism activistEmmanuel Lévinas Jean-François Lyotard Joseph de Maistre Nicolas Malebranche Gabriel Marcel , philosopherJacques Maritain , philosopherMaurice Merleau-Ponty , phenomenologistMichel de Montaigne , philosopher essayistMontesquieu , political philosopherEdgar Morin Emmanuel Mounier , philosopherJean-Luc Nancy , philosopherBlaise Pascal , scientist, mathematician, Christian philosopher, and authorJuliette Rennes , sociologistJean-François Revel Paul Ricœur Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Paul Sartre , existentialist philosopherMichel Serres Hippolyte Taine Alexis de Tocqueville François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire), Enlightenment author, deist /agnostic philosopherÉric Weil , philosopherSimone Weil
Politicians
Manuel Aeschlimann , member of the National Assembly , mayor of Asnières-sur-Seine Robert Badinter , lawyer, statesman and anti-death-sentence activistFrançois Bayrou , UDF party leaderLéon Blum , politician, Socialist party leader, prime ministerJosé Bové , anti-globalization activist, altermondialistAristide Briand Jacques Chirac , politician, member of center-right wing party, former city mayor of Paris, two-term French presidentGeorges Clemenceau Gaspard de Coligny Bertrand Delanoë , mayor of ParisJacques Delors Félix Faure , President of France who died of a heart attack while making love to his mistressCharles de Gaulle , heroic World War II general, commander of the Free French Forces , French presidentValéry Giscard d'Estaing François Guizot , Prime MinisterGisèle Halimi , lawyer and feminist activistFrançois Hollande , former PS (Socialist Party) leader, former French president (15 May 2012 – 14 May 2017)Jean Jaurès , politician, pacifistLionel Jospin , socialist, former prime ministerBernard Kouchner , founder of Médecins du Monde Jean-Marie Le Pen , leader of the extreme right party in France, Front National, presidential candidateLouis Lépine , Paris police chief, governor of Algiers, founder of the 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 RepublicEmmanuel Macron , founder and current President of Renaissance , current President of France (from 14 May 2017)Jean-Paul Marat , politician during the Revolution, journalist, physician, scientistJean-Claude Martinez , lawyer and European deputyPierre Mendès France , lawyer and statesman, prime ministerHonoré Mirabeau François Mitterrand , lawyer and statesman, presidentJean Monnet Claude Panier , member of the National Assembly of France in 1956–1958Philippe Pétain , head of Vichy FranceAlexandre de Prouville , Viceroy of New France Marthe Richard Maximilien Robespierre , statesman and major figure in the French RevolutionGilberte Roca (1911–2004), CommunistJacques Rolland (1914–1999), politicianSégolène Royal , politician, Socialist party, presidential candidateNicolas Sarkozy , politician, President of the right wing partyVictor Schœlcher , anti-slavery activistCharles Maurice de Talleyrand Maurice Thorez Jacques Toubon Dominique de Villepin , former Prime Minister of FranceDominique Voynet , physician and Green party politician
Popes
Resistance workers
Resistance workers during the German military administration in occupied France during World War II
Lucie Samuel-Aubrac (1912–2007), human rights activistRaymond Aubrac (1914–2012), statesmanRobert Benoist (1895–1944), SOE operative, champion race car driverDenise Bloch (1915–1945), SOE operative: King's Commendation for Brave Conduct, Legion of Honor, French Resistance MedalAndrée Borrel (1919–1944), SOE operative: Croix de guerreBernadette Cattanéo (1899–1963), trade unionist and communist activistMadeleine Damerment (1917–1944), SOE operative: Legion of Honor, Croix de guerre, Médaille combattant volontaire de la RésistanceMarie Louise Dissard (1880–1957), U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipientWilliam Grover-Williams (1903–1945), SOE operative, champion race car driverAimée Lallement (1898–1988), Righteous Among the NationsCecily Lefort (1900–1945), SOE operative: Croix de guerrePierre Mendès France (1907–1982), lawyer, statesmanJean Moulin (1899–1943), statesmanAgnès de La Barre de Nanteuil (1922–1944), assisted allied airmenAbbé Pierre (1912–2007), priest and founder of Emmaus Christian Pineau (1904–1995), statesmanEliane Plewman (1917–1944), SOE operative: Croix de guerreGermaine Ribière (1917–1999), Righteous among the Nations Élise Rivet (1890–1945), nun executed by Nazis for aiding the resistanceLilian Rolfe (1914–1945), SOE agent executed by the NazisOdette Sansom (1912–1995), SOE operative: George Cross, MBE, Legion of HonorSuzanne Spaak , Belgian-born agent: "Red Orchestra" intelligence network; executed 1944Violette Szabo (1921–1945), SOE operative: George Cross, Croix de guerreJean-Pierre Wimille (1908–1949), SOE operative, champion race car driver
Scientists
Social activists
Hubertine Auclert , journalist and feminist leaderSimone de Beauvoir , author, philosopher, and feministChristian de Boisredon , social activistGeneviève de Brunelle , counter-revolutionarySophie de Condorcet , feministMaria Deraismes , feministCamille Drevet , anti-colonialist, feminist and pacifist activistMarguerite Durand , journalist and feminist leaderAnna Féresse-Deraismes feminist activistOlympe de Gouges , feministFloresca Guépin , feminist and teacherAlice Jouenne , educator and socialist activistSamir Kassir , journalistJean Théophile Victor Leclerc , radical revolutionist, newspaper publisherMarie Léopold-Lacour , feminist activist, writer, and storytellerFélix Pécaut , education proponent and pastorGabrielle Petit , feminist activist, anticlerical, libertarian socialist, newspaper editorÉlisabeth Renaud , teacher, socialist activist, feministColette Reynaud , feminist, socialist, pacifist, journalistVictor Schœlcher , abolitionistPierre Seel , homosexual concentration camp survivor, activist, authorSéverine , feministMadeleine Tribolati (1905–1995), trade unionistFlora Tristan , feminist
Soldiers
Spationauts
Theologians
O.P. (Ordo Praedicatorum ) is the abbreviation used to indicate that someone is/was a member of the Dominican Order , a Catholic religious order .
S.J. (Societas Iesu ) is the abbreviation used to indicate that someone is/was a member of the Society of Jesus , another Catholic religious order.
Jean Arnauld , philosopher and theologianDenis Bérardier , priest and theologianMarie-Émile Boismard O.P.Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jean Calvin Sebastian Castellio , translator of the BiblePierre Cauchon , condemned Joan of ArcRobert Ciboule , Roman Catholic theologianBernard of Clairvaux Jean Claude Yves Congar , O.P.Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange , O.P.Hubert Languet Maurice Leenhardt , ethnologist, theologianJean Louail , theologianAndré Paul , scholar in the fields of theology, biblical studies and ancient JudaismFrançois Picquet , 18th-century missionary in New France Jean Porthaise , theologianAlexander de Rhodes S.J., 17th-century missionary to IndochinaRichard 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, philanthropistFabrice Balanche , geographerChristophe Balaÿ (1949–2022), professor, linguist, and translatorMarcel Bardiaux , sailorSuzanne Borel , first French woman diplomatCharles Burlureaux , physician and psychiatristJean-Gérard Bursztein , psychoanalystJeanne Calment , title claimant for the longest documented human lifespan – 122 years and 164 daysPierre de Coubertin , initiator of the modern Olympic Games The Countess , transgender courtesan, demimondaine, singer, artist, and writerJean Crépin , Army generalFrançois Louis Castelnaux Darrac , upholstererSolange d'Ayen , noblewoman and journalistNinon de l'Enclos , courtesan, patron of the artsCavalier de la Salle , explorerMaurice Debesse , educatorSuzanne Deutsch de la Meurthe , philanthropist, aviation supporterRené Dumont , agronomist engineer and sociologist and ecology activistJules Dumont d'Urville Maurice Duverger , juristGustave Eiffel , engineerPierre Charles L'Enfant , city planner responsible for Washington, D.C. Charles-Michel de l'Épée , founder of world's first public school for deaf peopleNorbert Ferré , illusionistHervé Gattegno , journalistRobert Gloton , educatorArthur de Gobineau , diplomat, author of An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races Caroline Goldman , psychologist and authorLucie Grange , medium and feminist prophetHeldrad of Novalese , Benedictine monk and Catholic Church saintMarie de Hennezel , psychologist, psychotherapist and writerJean Baptiste Marie Jaubert , physician and ornithologistYann Kerr , electrical engineerMarie-Pierre Lannelongue , journalistDaniel Le Hirbec , navigatorLouis Maurice Adolphe Linant de Bellefonds , explorer and canal engineerMarie-Antoinette Lix , governess and resistance fighterBrigitte Macron , high school teacher, first lady of FranceVirginie Mauvais , educator, philanthropistCarlos Mazure , engineerPhilippe Méaille , contemporary art collectorMontgolfier brothers , balloonistsFrançois Henri de la Motte , French spy executed for treason 1781 in LondonNostradamus , physician, author, translator, astrological consultantCharles François Adrien le Paulmier , diplomat, nobleman, and slaveholderAnne Quemere , sailor and sportswomanJean-Marie Raoul , lawyer, musicianÉlisée Reclus , geographer and anarchistJean-François Ricard (born 1956), prosecutor of the French National Terrorism Prosecution OfficeJean Eugène Robert-Houdin , magician, namesake of "Harry Houdini "Pierre Seel , homosexual survivor of the concentration camps, activist, authorOdette Teissier du Cros (1906–1997), ethnologist, museum curatorVauban , engineerEugène François Vidocq , French convict-turned-spy considered the father of modern forensics
See also
References
