List of French people

French people of note include:

This list about a living person needs additional citations for verification. (July 2013)

Actors

A–C

D–L

M–Z

Architects

Artists

Painters

Photographers

Sculptors

Athletes

A–J

André the Giant, professional wrestler
Tareq Abdesselem, Karateka
Sarah Abitbol, pairs figure skater (with Stéphane Bernadis); 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
Frédéric Bourdillon (born 1991), French-Israeli basketball player in the 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
David Douillet, 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
Jessica 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 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)
Claude Legrand, skier
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
Jacques Mayol, freediver
Kylian Mbappé, football player
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
Michel Sebastiani, modern pentathlete and Olympic fencing coach
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

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
Xavier Niel (born 1967), entrepreneur and businessman at Iliad
Charles Pathé, film industry pioneer
Armand Peugeot (1849–1915), automobile manufacturer
François Pinault (born 1936), entrepreneur
Benoît Ramognino (born 1968), art dealer, design furniture and pop culture expert
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^[6]
César Ritz, hotelier
James Mayer de Rothschild (1792–1868), banker
Philippe de Rothschild (1902–1988), winemaker
Eva Sadoun (birn 1980), social entrepreneur
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

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
Yelken Octuri, industrial designer
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
Léon Lacombe, anarchist burglar and murderer
Henri Désiré Landru, serial killer
Émile Louis
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^[7]^[8]
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

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

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
Augustin Pesnon
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
Denis Diderot, Enlightenment author 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
François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire), Enlightenment author, deist/agnostic philosopher
Éric Weil, philosopher
Simone Weil

Politicians

Manuel Aeschlimann, member of the National Assembly, mayor of Asnières-sur-Seine
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
Charles de Gaulle, heroic World War II general, commander of the 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
Louis 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 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
Claude Panier, member of the National Assembly of France in 1956–1958
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

Summarize

Perspective

Resistance workers during the German military administration in occupied France during 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 Freedom recipient
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
Germaine Ribière (1917–1999), 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), SOE operative: 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

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 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 Rhodes S.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
Christophe Balaÿ (1949–2022), professor, linguist, and translator
Marcel Bardiaux, sailor
Suzanne Borel, first French woman diplomat
Charles Burlureaux, physician and psychiatrist
Jean-Gérard Bursztein, psychoanalyst
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
Hervé Gattegno, journalist
Robert Gloton, educator
Arthur de Gobineau, diplomat, author of An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races
Caroline Goldman, psychologist and author
Lucie Grange, medium and feminist prophet
Heldrad of Novalese, Benedictine monk and Catholic Church saint
Marie de Hennezel, psychologist, psychotherapist and writer
Jean Baptiste Marie Jaubert, physician and ornithologist
Yann Kerr, electrical engineer
Marie-Pierre Lannelongue, journalist
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
Carlos Mazure, engineer
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

References

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