List of French Jews

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Jews have lived in France since Roman times with a rich and complex history. In the Middle Ages, French kings expelled most of the original Ashkenazi Jewish population to Germany. Since the French Revolution (and Emancipation), Jews have been able to contribute to all aspects of French culture and society. In 1870, the Cremieux decree gave full French citizenship to North-African Jews living in the Maghreb under French colonization. During World War II, a significant number of Jews living in Metropolitan France were murdered in the Holocaust or deported to Nazi death camps by the French Vichy government. After 1945, France served as a haven for Askhenazi refugees. After the independences of Morocco and Tunisia and the end of the Algerian War, an influx of immigration of Sephardic Jews saw the Jewish population triple to around 600,000, making it the largest Jewish community in Western Europe. Behind the United States and Israel, France ranks 3rd by Jewish population. In 2019, the Jewish Agency evaluated the Jewish population in France to be 450,000,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> not mentioning French citizens with only one Jewish parent or grandparent.

The following is a list of some prominent Jews and people of Jewish origins,<ref>As a particular counter-example, current French President Nicolas Sarkozy had a Jewish grandfather, is officially Catholic and is not part of this list.</ref> among others (not all of them practice, or practiced, the Jewish religion) who were born in, or are very strongly associated with, France. The strongly secular French nationality law forbids any statistics or lists based on ethnic or religious membership.<ref>Template:In langDécision n° 2007-557 DC du 15 novembre 2007 Conseil Constitutionnel, 15 November 2007</ref>

Historical figures

Activists

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  • André Spire (1868–1966), lawyer, journalist, poet, Jewish society and French Zionism leader<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Clergymen

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Military

  • Denise Bloch (1915–1945), World War II SOE spy<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Nissim de Camondo (1892–1917), pilot in World War I<ref name="lesartsdecoratifs1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Alfred Dreyfus (1859–1935), military officer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Nobles

  • Cahen d'Anvers, Papal title of 1867<ref>Impressionists and politics: art and democracy in the nineteenth century, by Philip G. Nord</ref>
  • Liefmann Calmer, Baron of Picquigny and Viscount of Amiens
  • d'Estienne, one of the early Franco/Jewish ennoblements in 16th-century Provence, after the family converted to Catholicism and changed their name from Cohen to Estienne in 1501<ref>L'expulsion des Juifs de Provence et de l'Europe méditerranéenne, Danièle Iancu, Université Paul Valéry</ref>
  • Maurice Ephrussi, Russian Empire-born, husband of Beatrice de Rothschild<ref>Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild: creator and collector</ref>
  • Arnaud Henry Salas-Perez, Prince Obolensky (1982-), French born fashion editor and Designer, half Jewish.
  • Koenigswarter<ref>Titled outsiders: Jewish nobility in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, Huibert Schijf1</ref>
  • de Rothschild

Philanthropists

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Politicians

  • Gabriel Attal, Jewish father; Prime Minister of France (2024); is also the first openly gay Prime Minister of France.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Jacques Attali (born 1943), Algerian-born advisor to President François Mitterrand from 1981 to 1991<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Patrick Balkany (born 1948), member of the National Assembly of France<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Élisabeth Borne (born 1961), Jewish father, first woman of Jewish descent to serve as Prime Minister, (2022–2024).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Agnès Buzyn (born 1962), medical doctor and university professor, Minister of Health from 2017 to 2020
  • Daniel Cohn-Bendit (born 1945), French-born German politician, active in both countries, best known as leader of the 1968 student uprising in France; more recently a leader of the European Greens<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Jean-François Copé (born 1964), President of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) Group in the French National Assembly<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Adolphe Crémieux (1796–1880), Justice Minister, 1848, 1870–71<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Alexandre Millerand (1859–1943), first Jewish Prime Minister, 1920, and first Jewish President of France, serving 1920 to 1924<ref>Alexandre Millerand: socialiste discuté, ministre contesté et président déchu : 1859-1943 Jean-Louis Rizzo Harmattan, 2013</ref>
  • Jules Moch (1893–1985), Transport Minister, 1945–47; Interior Minister, 1947–50; Defense Minister, 1950–51<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Pierre Moscovici (born 1957), European Union Economic Affairs Commissioner, former French Finance Ministerer and member of the French Parliament for the Socialist Party (PS)<ref name="google2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Simone Veil (1927–2017), Health Minister, 1974–76; legalized abortion; President of the European Parliament, 1979–82<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Journalists

  • Paul Amar (born 1950), journalist and television presenter
  • Michel Drucker (born 1942), journalist and TV host
  • Erik Izraelewicz (1954–2012), journalist and author, specialised in economics and finance; director and editorial executive of the daily Le Monde<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Ariel Wizman (born 1962), Moroccan-born TV journalist, DJ, musician and stage actor{{

Academic figures

Scientists

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  • Andre Michael Lwoff (1902–1994), microbiologist, Nobel Prize (1965)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Mathematicians

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  • Olinde Rodrigues (1795–1851), mathematician and social reformer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Social scientists

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  • Élisabeth Badinter (born 1944), sociologist, philosopher and historian<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Julien Benda (1867–1956), philosopher and novelist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Berachyah (12th or 13th century), philosopher<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Hélène Cixous (born 1937), Algerian-born feminist critic<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Jacques Derrida (1930–2004), Algerian-born philosopher<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Maxime Rodinson (1915–2004), historian<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Ignacy Sachs (1927–2023), Polish-born economist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • George Steiner (1929–2020), literary critic<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Simone Weil (1909–1943), philosopher and mystic<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Cultural figures

Artists

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  • Michel Kikoine (1892–1968), Russian Empire-born painter<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Moise Kisling (1891–1953), Polish-born painter<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Camille Pissarro (1830–1903), Danish West Indies-born painter widely considered the "father of Impressionism"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Willy Ronis (1910–2009), photographer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Joann Sfar (born 1971), cartoonist, film director<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Chaïm Soutine (1893–1943), Belarusian-born painter<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Ossip Zadkine (1890–1967), Russian-born sculptor (half Jewish)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Film and stage

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  • Alexandre Arcady (born 1947), film director, scriptwriter<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Arthur (born 1966), Moroccan-born TV producer, TV host<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Aure Atika (born 1970), actress, writer and director
  • Yvan Attal (born 1965), Israeli-born filmmaker, actor<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Sarah Bernhardt (1844–1923), stage actress (half Jewish)<ref>"After the Franco-Prussian war (1871), Bernhardt was forced to defend herself against press accusations that she was German and Jewish. Her proud reaction, reported in her biographies, was: "Jewish most certainly, but German, no. ... I am a daughter of the great Jewish race" https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bernhardt-sarah</ref>
  • Claude Berri (1934–2009), film director, producer, actor and writer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Simone Bitton (born 1955), Moroccan-born French-Israeli documentary filmmaker<ref name="autogenerated2"/>
  • Michel Boujenah (born 1952), Tunisian-born humorist, actor, producer, director<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Elie Chouraqui (born 1953), film director, producer, scriptwriter, actor<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Gerard Darmon (born 1948), actor, singer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Pascal Elbé (born 1967), actor<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Gad Elmaleh (born 1971), Moroccan-born humorist, actor, film director, singer, brother of Arié<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Sami Frey (born 1937), actor, director, movie actor<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Roger Hanin (1925–2015), actor, director<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Mélanie Laurent (born 1983), actress, singer, director<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Claude Lelouch (born 1937), director<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Gilles Lellouche (born 1972), actor (half Jewish)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Marcel Marceau (1923–2007), mime artist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Jean-Pierre Melville (1917–1973), film director and screenwriter<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Radu Mihăileanu (born 1958), Romanian-born film director, screenwriter, poet<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Jean-Pierre Mocky (1929–2019), film director, screenwriter and actor<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Marcel Ophüls (born 1927), German-born documentary filmmaker, son of Max Ophüls<ref name="Vincent Brook 2009, p. 1">Vincent Brook, Driven to Darkness: Jewish Emigré Directors and the Rise of Film Noir, Rutgers University Press, 2009, p. 1.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Max Ophüls (1902–1957), German-born film director, father of Marcel Ophüls<ref name="Vincent Brook 2009, p. 1"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Éric Rochant (born 1961), film director and screenwriter.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Tomer Sisley (born 1974), German-born actor and comedian<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Estelle Skornik (born 1971), actress<ref>"The granddaughter of Polish Jews ... "My family couldn't be more different than the one in the advert. My father is a salesman, and our family is Jewish"" Jewish Chronicle, 4 April 1997, page 38</ref>
  • Nicole Stéphane (1923–2007), film producer, actress, and director<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Michael Vartan (born 1968), actor (half Jewish)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Francis Veber (born 1937), film director, playwright and screenwriter (half Jewish)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • André Weinfeld (born 1947), film and television producer, director, screenwriter, photographer and journalist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • William Wyler (1902–1981), film director<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Yolande Zauberman, film director and screenwriter<ref name="autogenerated2"/>
  • Elsa Zylberstein (born 1968), actress (half Jewish)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Musicians

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  • Mike Brant (1947–1975), singer
  • Natalie Dessay (born 1965), opera singer soprano (converted to Judaism)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Sacha Distel (1933–2004), singer, guitarist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Paul Dukas (1865–1935), composer<ref>FERGUSON, D. (1954). Paul Dukas (1865–1935). In Masterworks of the Orchestral Repertoire: A Guide for Listeners (pp. 228–230), University of Minnesota Press. Template:JSTOR</ref>
  • Jean Ferrat (1930–2010), singer-songwriter, poet<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Jenifer (born 1982), French pop singer (half Jewish)
  • Joseph Kosma (1905–1969), Hungarian-born film composer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Norbert Krief (born 1956), guitarist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Enrico Macias (born 1938), Algerian-born singer, guitarist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Pierre Monteux (1875–1964), conductor<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Georges Moustaki (1934–2013), Egyptian-born composer, singer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Catherine Ringer (born 1957), singer-songwriter, actress<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Sapho (born 1950), Moroccan-born singer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • David Serero (born 1981), French opera singer, actor, producer; his parents are Sephardi Jews from Morocco<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Martial Solal (1927–2024), jazz pianist and composer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Tal (born 1989), Israeli-born pop / R'n'B singer
  • Alexandre Tansman (1897–1986), Polish-born composer, pianist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Writers and poets

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  • Benjamin Fondane (1898–1944), Romanian-born poet<ref>Paul Daniel, "Destinul unui poet" and "Tabla ilustrațiilor", pp.595–644</ref>
  • Romain Gary (1914–1980), Russian Empire-born novelist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • René Goscinny (1926–1977), comic book author and editor, co-creator of Asterix<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Edmond Jabès (1912–1991), Egyptian-born poet<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • André Maurois (1885–1967), author
  • Alain Mamou-Mani (born 1949), Tunisian-born French film producer and writer
  • Albert Memmi (1920–2020), Tunisian-born novelist and sociologist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Patrick Modiano (born 1945), writer (half Jewish)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Georges Perec (1936–1982), novelist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Marcel Proust (1871–1922), writer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Elsa Triolet (1896–1970), Russian-born novelist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Tristan Tzara (1896–1963), Romanian-born poet<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Ilarie Voronca (1903–1946), Romanian-born poet and essayist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Bernard Werber (born 1961), best-selling author<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Business figures

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  • Maurice de Hirsch (1831–1896), banker<ref>Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: "His grandfather Jacob had established the family as one of the first Jewish families to acquire great wealth and social acceptability in Bavaria ... His mother came from an Orthodox Frankfurt family and ensured that the children were properly instructed in Jewish matters ... he moved to Paris ... He was a well-known and ubiquitous member of the smart set in Paris"</ref>
  • Philippe Kahn (born 1952), founder of Borland<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Sport figures

François Cevert

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  • Cyril Benzaquen (born 1989), World Champion Kickboxing, World Champion Muay-thaï, light heavyweight<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Ossip Bernstein (1882–1962), Russian-born chess grandmaster<ref name=autogenerated1>Encyclopaedia Judaica, art. "Chess"</ref>
  • Jean Bloch (born 1877), soccer, Olympic silver
  • Ilan Boccara (born 1993), France/Netherlands, football player
  • Alain Calmat (born 1940), figure skater, Olympic silver, World Championship gold, silver, two-time bronze
  • François Cevert (1944–1973), racing driver (half Jewish)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Robert Cohen (1930–2022), boxer, World Champion, bantamweight<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • René Dreyfus (1905–1993), racing driver<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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  • Yves Dreyfus (1931–2021), épée fencer, Olympic bronze, French champion
  • Johann Fauveau (born 1982), kickboxer, World Champion, welterweight<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Other

See also

References

Footnotes

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Template:Lists of Jews by country Template:Authority control

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