Most Famous People from France

France has produced 13,591 notable individuals throughout history, with politicians and athletes being the most represented categories. The highest-ranked is Napoleon. Rankings are based on a cross-verified academic dataset of 152,953 people.

Category All
Citizenship All
N
Napoleon French Politician 1769 – 1821
# 9
VH
Victor Hugo French Poet 1802 – 1885
# 47
V
Voltaire French Writer 1694 – 1778
# 51
JR
Jean-Jacques Rousseau French Writer 1712 – 1778
# 55
RD
René Descartes French Philosopher 1596 – 1650
# 67
CD
Charles de Gaulle French Statesperson 1890 – 1970
# 94
LX
Louis XIV of France French Monarch 1638 – 1715
# 101
LP
Louis Pasteur French Biologist 1822 – 1895
# 120
JV
Jules Verne French Novelist 1828 – 1905
# 120
C
Charlemagne French Monarch 748 – 814
# 122
AC
Albert Camus French Writer 1913 – 1960
# 129
MF
Michel Foucault French Philosopher 1926 – 1984
# 233
HD
Honoré de Balzac French Novelist 1799 – 1850
# 234
ÉZ
Émile Zola French Novelist 1840 – 1902
# 254
BP
Blaise Pascal French Mathematician 1623 – 1662
# 255
ZZ
Zinedine Zidane French Football Born 1972
# 257
MA
Marie Antoinette French Socialite 1755 – 1793
# 279
JO
Joan of Arc French Kirche 1410 – 1431
# 304
ÉP
Édith Piaf French Singer 1915 – 1963
# 326
AR
Arthur Rimbaud French Poet 1854 – 1891
# 340