List of French Jews

Jews have lived in France since Roman times, and since the French Revolution (and emancipation) have contributed to all aspects of French culture and society. Following World War 2, France served as a haven for Jewish refugees, and an influx of immigration from North Africa saw the Jewish population triple to around 600,000, making it the largest in Europe. The following is a list of some prominent French Jews.

Historical Figures

Politicians

• Robert Badinter, Justice Minister (1981-6; abolished the death penalty)
• Léon Blum, Prime Minister (1936-7, 1938, 1946-7)
• Adolphe Crémieux, Justice Minister (1848, 1870-1)
• Laurent Fabius, Prime Minister (1984-6) (half Jewish)
• René Mayer, Prime Minister (1953)
• Pierre Mendès-France, Prime Minister (1954-5; withdrew from Indochina)
• Simone Veil, Health Minister (1974-6; legalized abortion), President of the European Parliament (1979-82)

Activists

• René Cassin, drafted Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Nobel Peace Prize (1968)
• Daniel Cohn-Bendit, student leader and Green MEP
• Alain Geismar, student leader
• Bernard Kouchner, founder of Médecins Sans Frontières
• Alain Krivine, student leader and Trotskyist MEP
• Jean-Marie Lustiger, archbishop of Paris (born Jewish)

Military

• Denise Bloch, WW2 Spy
• Marcel Dassault, aircraft industrialist
• Alfred Dreyfus, military officer
• Manouchian Group, French Resistance group (mostly Jewish)

Academic Figures

Scientists

• Georges Charpak, physicist, Nobel Prize (1992)
• Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, physicist, Nobel Prize (1997)
• Mikhael Gromov, mathematician
• Alexander Grothendieck, mathematician, Fields Medal (1966)
• Jacques Hadamard, mathematician
• François Jacob, biologist, Nobel Prize (1965)
• Henri Kagan, chemist
• Paul Lévy, mathematician
• Albert Libchaber, chaos theorist
• Gabriel Lippmann, physicist, Nobel Prize (1908)
• André Lwoff, microbiologist, Nobel Prize (1965)
• Benoit Mandelbrot, mathematician
• Szolem Mandelbrojt, mathematician
• Henri Moissan, chemist, Nobel Prize (1906) (half Jewish)
• Olinde Rodrigues, mathematician & social reformer
• Laurent Schwartz, mathematician, Fields Medal (1950)
• Jean-Pierre Serre, mathematician, Fields Medal (1954), Abel Prize (2003)
• André Weil, mathematician

Other Academics

• Raymond Aron, sociologist
• Julien Benda, philosopher & novelist
• Émile Benveniste, linguist
• Henri Bergson, philosopher, Nobel Prize (1927)
• Marc Bloch, historian & Resistance leader
• Hélène Cixous, feminist critic
• Jacques Derrida, philosopher
• Emile Durkheim, sociologist
• Alain Finkielkraut, essayist
• Gersonides, philosopher
• Maurice Halbwachs, sociologist
• Vladimir Jankélévitch, philosopher & music critic
• Claude Lévi-Strauss, anthropologist
• Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, philosopher & anthropologist
• Emmanuel Levinas, philosopher
• Marcel Mauss, sociologist
• Nostradamus, astrologer & seer
• Rashi, religious commentator
• George Steiner, literary critic (French-born)
• Simone Weil, philosopher & mystic

Cultural Figures

Film & Stage

• Anouk Aimée, actress
• Jean Pierre Aumont, actor (half Jewish)
• Sarah Bernhardt, stage actress (half Jewish)
• Claude Berri, director
• Charlotte Gainsbourg, actress (half Jewish)
• Judith Godrèche, actress
• Agnès Jaoui, director & actress
• Mathieu Kassovitz, director & actor (half Jewish)
• Claude Lanzmann, director
• Claude Lelouch, director
• Marcel Marceau, mime artist
• Jean-Pierre Melville, director
• Rachel, stage actress
• Simone Signoret, actress (half Jewish)
• William Wyler, director

Musicians

• Adolphe Adam, composer
• Charles-Valentin Alkan, composer & pianist
• Barbara, singer
• Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schonberg, musical writers
• Patrick Bruel, singer
• Joe Dassin, singer
• Sacha Distel, singer (half Jewish)
• Paul Dukas, composer
• Laïka Fatien, jazz singer (half Jewish)
• Serge Gainsbourg, singer
• Joseph Kosma, film composer
• Wanda Landowska, harpsichordist
• Darius Milhaud, composer
• Pierre Monteux, conductor
• Jacques Offenbach, composer
• Emil Waldteufel, composer

Artists

• Balthus, painter (half Jewish)
• Brassaï, photographer
• Claude Cahun, photographer
• Marc Chagall, painter
• Michel Kikoine, painter
• Moise Kisling, painter
• Pinchus Kremegne, painter
• Jules Pascin, painter
• Camille Pissarro, painter
• Joann Sfar, cartoonist
• Chaim Soutine, painter
• Pauline Trigère, fashion designer
• Ossip Zadkine, sculptor

Writers & Poets

• Paul Celan, poet
• Romain Gary, novelist
• Eugène Ionesco, playwright (half Jewish)
• Isidore Isou, poet
• Max Jacob, poet
• Edmond Jabès, poet
• Bernard-Henri Lévy, writer
• Patrick Modiano, writer (half Jewish)
• Michel de Montaigne, essayist (half Jewish)
• Georges Perec, novelist
• Marcel Proust, writer (half Jewish)
• Yasmina Reza, playwright
• Jean-Jacques Schuhl, writer
• Tristan Tzara, poet

Business Figures

• Marcel Bleustein & Maurice Lévy, founder and head of Publicis Groupe
• Isaac & Daniel Carasso, founders of Danone
• André Citroën, founder of Citroën
• Philippe Kahn, founder of Borland
• Armand, Georges, Maurice and Paul Marciano, founders of GUESS
• Gilbert Trigano, founder of Club Med (unconfirmed)
• Pierre Wertheimer, co-founder of Chanel

Sport Figures

• Alain Calmat, figure skater
• Pierre Darmon, tennis player
• René Dreyfus, racing driver
• Alphonse Halimi, boxer: World Bantamweight Champion
• René Lacoste, tennis player
• Francois Cevert, racing driver (half Jewish)

See also: List of Jews, List of French people