List of French Jews
Template:Jew list Template:JewsByCountry 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. A significant number perished in the Holocaust, deported to Nazi death camps by the French Vichy government. After the war, France served as a haven for Jewish refugees, and an influx of immigration (mostly of Sephardi Jews from North Africa) saw the Jewish population triple to around 600,000, making it the largest Jewish community in Western Europe at the present time.
The following is a list of some prominent Jews and people of Jewish origins (not all of them practice, or practiced, the Jewish religion) who were born in, or are very strongly associated with, France.
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)
- Michel Debré, Prime Minister (1959-1962; leading Gaullist) (Jewish father)
- Laurent Fabius, Prime Minister (1984-6) (Jewish father)
- Louis-Lucien Klotz
- Bernard Kouchner, politician and doctor (Jewish father)
- Georges Mandel, Interior Minister (1939)
- René Mayer, Prime Minister (1953)
- Pierre Mendès-France, Prime Minister (1954-5; withdrew from Indochina)
- Jules Moch, Transport Minister (1945-7), Interior Minister (1947-50), Defense Minister (1950-1)
- Simone Veil, Health Minister (1974-6; legalized abortion), President of the European Parliament (1979-82)
- Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Finance Minister (1997-9)
Activists
- René Cassin, drafted Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Nobel Peace Prize (1968)
- Daniel Cohn-Bendit, student leader and German Green MEP
- Alain Geismar, student leader
- Bernard Kouchner, politician, founder of Médecins Sans Frontières (Jewish father)
- Alain Krivine, student leader and Trotskyist MEP
- André Spire(1948) (1868-1948), lawyer, journalist, poet, Jewish society and French Zionism leader
Clergymen
- Jean-Marie Lustiger, former archbishop of Paris and cardinal (born Jewish; converted to Roman Catholicism)
Military
- Denise Bloch - WW2 SOE spy
- Paul Bloch, resistance general (brother of Marcel Bloch, aka Marcel Dassault, see below)
- Nissim de Camondo pilot in WWI
- Alfred Dreyfus, military officer
- Manouchian Group, French Resistance group (mostly Jewish)
Academic figures
Scientists
- Edouard Brezin, French physicist[citation needed]
- Haïm Brezis, French mathematician, Nonlinear analysis
- Hippolyte Bernheim, hypnosis pioneer
- George Cohen-Tannoudji, Algerian-born French scientist
- Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, physicist, Nobel Prize (1997)
- Alexander Grothendieck, mathematician, Fields Medal (1966)
- Jacques Hadamard, mathematician
- Henri Kagan, chemist, Wolf Prize (2001)
- Francois Jacob, microbiologist, Nobel Prize (1965)
- Paul Lévy, mathematician
- Gabriel Lippmann, physicist, Nobel Prize (1908)
- André Lwoff, microbiologist, Nobel Prize (1965)
- Henri Moissan, chemist, Nobel Prize (1906) (Jewish mother)
- Olinde Rodrigues, mathematician & social reformer
- Dr Willy Rozenbaum, French medical doctor, vital in the discovery of HIV, the cause of AIDS
- Laurent Schwartz, mathematician, Fields Medal (1950)
- Raymond Stora, French-born French U.S. physicist
- André Weil, mathematician, Wolf Prize (1979)
- Ellie Wollman, French bacteriologist[citation needed]
Social scientists
- Raymond Aron, sociologist
- Jacques Attali, economist, writer
- Julien Benda, philosopher & novelist
- Henri Bergson, philosopher, Nobel Prize (1927)
- Marc Bloch, historian & Resistance leader
- Léon Brunschvicg, philosopher
- Hélène Cixous, feminist critic
- Jacques Derrida, philosopher
- Émile Durkheim, sociologist
- Alain Finkielkraut, essayist
- André Glucksmann, philosopher
- Gersonides, philosopher
- Maurice Halbwachs, sociologist
- Robert Hertz, sociologist
- Bernard-Henri Lévy, philosopher
- Claude Lévi-Strauss, anthropologist
- Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, philosopher & anthropologist
- Emmanuel Levinas, philosopher
- Gabriel Marcel, philosopher (Jewish mother)
- Marcel Mauss, sociologist
- Nostradamus, astrologer & seer (family forced to convert to Catholicism)
- Jacob Rodrigues Péreire, first to teach the deaf
- Rashi, religious commentator
- Maxime Rodinson, historian
- Guy Sorman, philosopher
- George Steiner, literary critic (French-born)
- Simone Weil, philosopher & mystic
Cultural figures
Film and stage
- Anouk Aimée, actress
- Richard Anconina, actor
- Alexandre Arcady, director
- Alexandre Aja, director
- Pierre Arditi, actor (Jewish father)
- Arthur, radio and TV host, producer
- Yvan Attal, director & actor
- Jean-Pierre Aumont, actor (Jewish father)
- Jean-Pierre Bacri, actor
- Harry Baur, actor (Jewish father)
- Jean Benguigui, actor
- Jean Benoit-Lévy, producer and director
- Edmond Benoit-Lévy, film pioneer
- Bernard.Benyamin, TV journalist
- Sarah Bernhardt, stage actress (Jewish mother)
- Claude Berri, director
- Richard Berry, actor
- Michel Boujenah, actor, director, humorist
- Caprice Bourret, model (French parents)
- M.Drucker, producer
- M.Elkabach,journalist
- Patrick Bruel, actor and singer
- David Charvet, TV actor
- Elie Chouraqui, director
- Nina Companeez, director
- Gérard Darmon, actor
- Henri Diamant-Berger, director and producer
- Gad Elmaleh, humorist, actor
- Daniel Emilfork, actor
- Charlotte Gainsbourg, actress (Jewish father)
- Judith Godrèche, actress
- La Goulue, dancer
- Vanessa Guedj, actress
- Roger Hanin, actor and director
- Agnès Jaoui, director & actress
- Elie Kakou, humorist
- Marin Karmitz, producer
- Mathieu Kassovitz, director & actor (Jewish father)
- Cédric Klapisch, director
- Véra Korène, actress & stage director
- Diane Kurys, director
- Claude Lanzmann, director
- Thomas Langmann, actor
- Claude Lelouch, director
- Raoul J. Lévy, Belgian-born film producer
- Julia Levy-Boeken, actress [1]
- Max Linder, silent-film actor
- Marcel Marceau, mime artist
- Lazare Meerson, film artist
- Jean-Pierre Melville, director and screenwriter
- Raphaël Mezrahi, humorist
- Serge Moati, director, TV host
- Paul Nahon, TV journalist
- Marcel Ophuls, director
- Gérard Oury, director
- Philippine Pascal, actress
- Rachel, stage actress
- Ida Rubinstein, Belle Epoque icon
- Elie Semoun, humorist, actor
- Beatrice Shonberg, TV journalist
- Simone Signoret, actress (Jewish father)
- Nicole Stéphane, actress
- Patrick Timsit, humorist, actor
- William Wyler, director
- Elsa Zylberstein, actress (Jewish father)
- Alain Chabat, actor
- Francis Huster, actor (Polish Jewish parents)
Musicians
- Charles-Valentin Alkan, composer & pianist
- Richard Anthony, singer
- Barbara, singer
- Michel Berger, singer, composer
- Gérard Berliner, singer
- Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schonberg, musical writers
- Mike Brant, singer
- Dany Brillant, singer
- Patrick Bruel, singer, actor, world poker champion
- Jacques Canetti, music producer (brother of writer Elias Canetti)
- Claude Challe, club impresario and DJ
- Philippe Cohen Solal, member of Gotan Project
- Joe Dassin, singer (Jewish father)
- Natalie Dessay, soprano (converted to Judaism)
- Sacha Distel, singer (Jewish mother)
- Paul Dukas, composer
- Michel Emer, composer
- Laïka Fatien, jazz singer (Jewish mother)
- Jean Ferrat, composer, singer
- Serge Gainsbourg, singer-songwriter
- Jean-Jacques Goldman, singer and songwriter
- Richard Gotainer, singer
- Fromental Halévy, composer
- Ludovic Halévy, librettist
- Raphaël Haroche, musician
- Michel Jonasz, singer
- Joseph Kosma, film composer
- Jacques Lanzmann, lyricist; brother of Claude Lanzmann
- René Leibowitz, composer
- Francis Lemarque, singer
- Enrico Macias, singer
- Didier Marouani, composer
- Darius Milhaud, composer
- Mireille, singer, composer
- Pierre Monteux, conductor
- Georges Moustaki, composer, singer
- Jacques Offenbach, composer
- Régine, Belgian-born singer
- Catherine Ringer, singer, actress (Jewish father)
- Sapho, singer
- Phil Spector, US record producer (French mother)
- Alexandre Tansman, composer, pianist
- Emil Waldteufel, composer
- Félix Alphonse Weingaertner, composer
- Rika Zaraï, Israeli-born singer
Artists
- Victor Brauner, painter
- Claude Cahun, photographer
- André François, cartoonist
- Jean Dunand-Gotscho, sculptor, painter, lacquerer (Jewish mother)
- Marcel Gotlieb, cartoonist
- Michel Kikoine, painter
- Moise Kisling, Polish-born French painter
- Pinchus Krémègne, painter
- Jacques Lipchitz, Lithuanian-born French artist
- Amedeo Modigliani, Italian-born French artist
- Jules Pascin, painter (Jewish grandfather) (Jewish by religion)
- Camille Pissarro, painter (Jewish father)
- Man Ray, U.S.-born French artist
- Sonia Rykiel, fashion designer
- Marc Chagall, Belarusian-born French artist
- Joann Sfar, cartoonist
- Chaim Soutine, Belarusian-born French painter
- Pauline Trigère, fashion designer
- Ossip Zadkine, sculptor (Jewish father)
Writers and poets
- Tristan Bernard, playwright & novelist
- Paul Celan, poet
- Laurent Cohen-Tanugi, writer, lawyer
- Jerome Federman, writer
- Romain Gary, novelist (Jewish father)
- Eugène Ionesco, playwright (Jewish mother)
- Max Jacob, poet (later converted to Catholicism)
- Edmond Jabès, poet
- Joseph Joffo, writer
- Gustave Kahn, poet & art critic
- Joseph Kessel, novelist & journalist
- Jacques Lanzmann, writer
- Bernard-Henri Lévy, writer & philosopher
- Justine Lévy, novelist
- André Maurois, author
- Albert Memmi, novelist & sociologist
- Patrick Modiano, writer (Jewish father)
- Michel de Montaigne, essayist (mother of Jewish descent)
- Irène Némirovsky, writer
- Georges Perec, novelist
- Marcel Proust, writer (Jewish mother)
- Yasmina Reza, playwright
- Claude Sarraute, journalist, writer
- Nathalie Sarraute, writer
- Jean-Jacques Schuhl, writer
- Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, journalist, co-founder L'Express
- Anne Sinclair, political journalist; wife of Dominique Strauss-Kahn
- André Spire
- Tristan Tzara, poet
- Ilarie Voronca, poet & essayist
Business figures
- Liliane Bettencourt, cosmetics
- Marcel Bleustein & Maurice Lévy, founder and head of Publicis Groupe
- Moïse de Camondo, banker
- Isaac & Daniel Carasso, founders of Danone
- André Citroën, founder of Citroën
- Marcel Dassault (born Marcel Bloch), aerospace industrialist
- David David-Weill, banker
- Pierre David-Weill, banker
- Michel David-Weill chairman of Lazard LLC Partners
- Achille Fould, financier
- Maurice Girodias, founder of Olympia Press (Jewish father)
- Philippe Kahn, founder of Borland
- Alexandre, Simon & Elie Lazard, founders of Lazard Frères
- Michel Adam Lisowski, founder and president of Fashion TV
- Gerard Louis-Dreyfus, billionaire owner of Louis-Dreyfus & Co.
- Armand, Georges, Maurice & Paul Marciano, founders of GUESS
- André Meyer, French/American financier
- Jean-Pierre Meyer Deputy Chairman in L'Oreal cosmetics
- Jean-Charles Naouri, financier
- Eugene Péreire, banker
- Isaac Péreire, banker
- Rothschild banking & wine growing family of France
- Eugène Schueller, cosetics
- Pierre Wertheimer, co-founder of Chanel
- Alain & Gerard Wertheimer, billionaires owners of Chanel
Sport figures
- Alain Calmat, figure skater
- François Cévert, racing driver (Jewish father)
- Robert Cohen, boxer: World Bantamweight Champion
- Pierre Darmon, tennis player
- René Dreyfus, racing driver
- Alphonse Halimi, boxer: World Bantamweight Champion
- Maurice Herzog, mountaineer : first 8000 m : mountain Annapurna (1950)
- Savielly Tartakower, chess grandmaster
- Daniel Wildenstein, racehorse owner
- David Trezeguet , soccer player
Other public figures
- Ilan Halimi, murder victim