French people

The French people (French: Français) are a nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France.

Quick facts: Total population, Regions with significant po... ▼

French people
Français

Total population
c. 100 million France: 67,413,000[1] French diaspora and ancestry: c. 30 million[2]
Regions with significant populations
France	67,413,000 (including overseas departments) [1]
United States (2020)	9,373,000 (includes ancestry)[3]
Argentina	6,000,000 (includes ancestry)[4]
Canada (2016)	4,995,000 (includes ancestry)[5][6]
United Kingdom	3,000,000 (ancestry)[7] 300,000[8]
Brazil	1,000,000 (includes ancestry)[9]
Chile	800,000 (includes ancestry)[10]
Switzerland	159,000[11][12]
Madagascar	124,000[13]
Belgium	123,000[14]
Spain	122,000[15]
Australia	118,000[16][17]
Portugal	104,000[18]
Other countries Israel 41,000[19] Thailand 40,000[20][21] Italy 33,368[22] Algeria 32,000[11] China 31,000[11] Luxembourg 31,000[11][23] Mexico 30,000[24] Poland 27,000[19] Hong Kong 25,000[25] Netherlands 23,000[11] Senegal 20,000[11] Mauritius 15,000[26] Ireland 12,000[19] Monaco 10,000[27] Sweden 9,000[28] Austria 8,000[29] Denmark 8,000[19] Romania 5,000[19] New Zealand 5,000[19][30] Malaysia 4,000[31] Turkey 3,152[32] Hungary 2,000[33]
Languages
Primarily French, also regional languages of France
Religion
Mainly Christianity (mostly Catholic[34] with Protestant minorities) Islam (mostly Sunni Islam) and other religions[35] Irreligion[36]

Part of a series of articles on the
French people
Native communities France Monaco Belgium Italy (Aosta)
Diaspora Africa Algeria Madagascar Mauritius Namibia (Afrikaners) Réunion1 Senegal Seychelles South Africa (Afrikaners) Asia Hong Kong India Japan Korea Pakistan Middle East Israel Jews Lebanon Turkey United Arab Emirates Europe United Kingdom (Huguenots) Netherlands (Huguenots) Germany (pre-1918) Hungary Spain Portugal North America Cuba French Antilles1 Guatemala Haiti Jamaica Mexico Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis United States French Louisianians Cajuns French Canadians Huguenots Breton Corsican Basque Canada Acadians Brayon Basque Québécois Franco-Ontarians Franco-Manitoban Fransaskois Franco-Albertan Franco-Columbian Franco-Yukonnais Franco-Ténois Franco-Nunavois Franco-Terreneuviens South America Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Peru Uruguay Venezuela Oceania Australia New Caledonia New Zealand 1Overseas parts of France proper Migration of minorities in France (i.e. Basques) can be considered as separate (ethnically) or French migration (by nationality).
Culture Religion Literature Music Cinema Architecture Sport Cuisine Dress Symbols Cultural Heritage sites
History History of France Napoleonic wars
Language French Walloon Breton Romance
Other List of French people People of French descent Basques Bretons Walloons Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico
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The French people, especially the native speakers of langues d'oïl from northern and central France, are primarily descended from Gauls (including the Belgae), Romans (or Gallo-Romans, western European Celtic and Italic peoples), as well as Germanic peoples such as the Franks, the Visigoths, the Suebi and the Burgundians who settled in Gaul from east of the Rhine after the fall of the Roman Empire, as well as various later waves of lower-level irregular migration that have continued to the present day. The Norse also settled in Normandy in the 10th century and contributed significantly to the ancestry of the Normans. Furthermore, regional ethnic minorities also exist within France that have distinct lineages, languages and cultures such as Bretons in Brittany, Occitans in Occitania, Basques in the French Basque Country, Catalans in northern Catalonia, Germans in Alsace, Corsicans in Corsica and Flemings in French Flanders.[37]

France has long been a patchwork of local customs and regional differences, and while most French people still speak the French language as their mother tongue, languages like Picard, Poitevin-Saintongeais, Franco-Provencal, Occitan, Catalan, Auvergnat, Corsican, Basque, French Flemish, Lorraine Franconian, Alsatian, Norman, and Breton remain spoken in their respective regions. Arabic is also widely spoken, arguably the largest minority language in France as of the 21st century (a spot previously held by Breton and Occitan).[38]

Modern French society is a melting pot.[39] From the middle of the 19th century, it experienced a high rate of inward migration, mainly consisting of Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Arab-Berbers, Jews, Sub-Saharan Africans, Chinese, and other peoples from Africa, the Middle East and East Asia, and the government, defining France as an inclusive nation with universal values, advocated assimilation through which immigrants were expected to adhere to French values and cultural norms. Nowadays, while the government has let newcomers retain their distinctive cultures since the mid-1980s and requires from them a mere integration,[40] French citizens still equate their nationality with citizenship as does French law.[41]

In addition to mainland France, French people and people of French descent can be found internationally, in overseas departments and territories of France such as the French West Indies (French Caribbean), and in foreign countries with significant French-speaking population groups or not, such as the United States (French Americans), Canada (French Canadians), Argentina (French Argentines), Brazil (French Brazilians), Mexico (French Mexicans), Chile (French Chileans) and Uruguay (French Uruguayans).[42][43]