List of French people

Liliane de Bettencourt, majority owner of L'Oreal, wealthiest person in France
Coco Chanel -- fashion designer
Edouard de Givenchy
Christian Dior -- fashion designer
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Madame Grey
Daniel Hechter -- inventor of ready-to-wear
Paul Poiret
Yves Saint-Laurent -- fashion designer

Fictional characters

Asterix, Obelix and Idefix (Ren� Goscinny and Albert Uderzo) -- Gaul warriors
Tintin (Herg�) -- Belgian reporter
Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan (Alexandre Dumas) -- Musketeers of the King of France
Cyrano de Bergerac (Edmond Rostand) -- not fictional but there's no better category ;)
Rastignac (Honore de Balzac) -- The most ambitious man in Paris?
The Man in the Iron Mask -- Not fictional either, but who knows who he was?
Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie) -- a Belgian private detective.

Filmmakers

Olivier Assayas
Jean-Jacques Beineix
Luc Besson
Bertrand Blier
Catherine Breillat
Robert Bresson
Andr� Cayatte
Jean Cocteau
Jacques Cousteau -- inventor of the modern aqua lung
Jacques Demy
Abel Gance
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Mathieu Kassovitz -- also actor
Patrice Leconte
Claude Lelouch
Louis Malle
Andr� Malraux
Georges M�li�s
Maurice Pialat
Roman Polanski
Jean Renoir
Alain Resnais
Alain Sarde
Jacques Tati
Fran�ois Truffaut, director
Roger Vadim -- director
Agn�s Varda
Jean Vigo

Humorists

Coluche
Francis Blanche
Pierre Dac humorist and Resistance worker
Pierre Desproges

Monarchs

Charlemagne
Henri IV
Louis XIV, the Sun King -- King of France
Louis XVI -- King of France when the Revolution started.
Marie Antoinette -- Austrian born Queen of France, wife of Louis XVI.
Napol�on Bonaparte and Jos�phine de Beauharnais -- Emperor and Empress of France
Napoleon III -- Pr�sident and Emperor

Musicians, singers

Charles Aznavour
Josephine Baker, American born entertainer
Jane Bathori, opera singer
Barbara
Michel Berger
Georges Brassens
Manu Chao
Dalida
Damia
Marie Dubas
Claude Fran�ois -- popular singer 1960's 1970's
France Gall
Serge Gainsbourg
Jean-Jacques Goldman
Georgius
St�phane Grappelli -- jazz musician
Johnny Hallyday -- France's Elvis
David Hallyday
Kiki -- "Queen of Montparnasse"
Claudine Longet
Luis Mariano
F�lix Mayol
Mireille Mathieu
Mistinguett
Pierre Perret
Edith Piaf
Tino Rossi
Alain Souchon
Charles Tr�net
Sylvie Vartan
Pauline Garcia-Viardot - opera singer & composer

Painters

Philosophers

Jean le Rond d'Alembert
Jean Baudrillard -- philosopher and sociologist
Pierre Bourdieu, sociologist
Julien Benda
Henri Bergson
Emile Boutroux
Jean de Cr�vecoeur
Gilles Deleuze
Jacques Derrida
Ren� Descartes -- scientist and philosopher
Denis Diderot -- Enlightenment author and atheist philosopher
Elisabeth Bourdiau de Fontenay
Michel Foucault
Vladimir Jankelevitch
Etienne de La Bo�tie -- philosopher and politician
Marcel L�gaut - christian philosopher
Jean de L�ry -- corsaireand ethnologist, anti-racism acivist
Emmanual L�vinas
Gabriel Marcel -- philosopher
Maurice Merleau-Ponty -- existentialist philosopher
Michel de Montaigne -- philosopher essayist
Montesquieu, political philosopher
Emmanuel Mounier -- philosopher
Jean Luc Nancy -- philosopher
Blaise Pascal -- scientist, Christian philosopher and author
Paul Ricoeur
Jean-Paul Sartre -- existentialist philosopher
Michel Serres
Simone Weil

Politicians

Pierre Badinter -- lawyer, statesman and anti death sentence activist
L�on Blum
Jos� Bov� -- anti-globalization activist
Marcel Cachin -- founder of the daily periodic L'Humanit�
Jacques Chirac
Samuel de Champlain -- 1st governor of Canada
Georges Clemenceau
Gaspard de Coligny
Bertrand Delano�
Jacques Delors
F�lix Faure, President of France who died of a heart attack while making love to his mistress
Charles de Gaulle
Val�ry Giscard d'Estaing
Guizot, Prime Minister
Gis�le Halimi lawyer and feminist activist
Jean Jaur�s, politician, pacifist
Lionel Jospin
Bernard Kouchner -- founder of Medecins du Monde and other "French Doctors"
Jean-Marie Le Pen
Alain Lipietz -- green economist
Pierre Mend�s-France -- Lawyer and Statesman
Honor� Mirabeau
Fran�ois Mitterrand -- Lawyer and Statesman
Jean Monnet
Henri Philippe P�tain -- Head of Vichy France
Alexandre de Prouville, Viceroy of New France
Jean-Pierre Raffarin -- Prime Minister of France since 2002
Victor Schoelcher -- anti-slavery activist
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
Maurice Thorez
Jacques Toubon
Dominique Voynet -- Physician and Green politician

Popes

Pope Clement V (1305-1314): Bertrand de Got
Pope John XXII (1316-1334): Jacques d'Euse
Pope Benedict XII (1334-1342): Jacques Fournier
Pope Clement VI (1342-1352): Pierre Roger
Pope Innocent VI (1352-1362): Stephen Aubert
Pope Urban V (1362-1370): Guillaume de Grimoard
Pope Gregory XI (1370-1378): Pierre Roger de Beaufort

Resistance workers

Scientists

Louis Agassiz -- geologist
Andr�-Marie Amp�re -- scientist
Fran�ois Arago -- physicist, astronomer (and also politician)
Jean Baptiste Biot -- physicist
Jean-Charles de Borda -- mathematician, physicist, political scientist
Louis de Broglie -- 1929 Physics Nobel Prize winner.
Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot -- physicist
Augustin Louis Cauchy -- mathematician
Jean-Fran�ois Champollion -- egyptologist
Emilie du Chatelet -- 18th century mathematician
Georges Charpak -- physicist, Nobel price winner
Marquis de Condorcet -- philosopher, mathematician and political scientist
Charles-Augustin de Coulomb -- physicist, mathematician, engineer
Jacques Cousteau, Marine scientist
Joseph Cugnot
Ir�ne Joliot-Curie -- scientist
Marie Curie -- scientist
Pierre Curie -- scientist
Guillaume Delisle, cartographer
Ren� Descartes -- scientist and philosopher
Girard Desargues -- mathematician
Georges Duby -- historian
Pierre de Fermat -- mathematician
Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier -- mathematician and physicist
Pierre Gassendi -- philosopher mathematician
Pierre-Gilles de Gennes -- physicist, Nobel prize winner
Evariste Galois -- mathematician
Fr�d�ric Joliot -- scientist
Joseph Louis Lagrange -- mathematician
Pierre-Simon Laplace -- mathematician and physicist
Antoine Lavoisier
Claude Levi-Strauss, anthropologist
Antoine L�vi-Leblond -- physicist
Albert Matthiez -- historian
Andr� Michaux -- botanist and explorer
Jules Michelet -- historian
Abraham de Moivre -- mathematician
Theodore Monod -- naturalist and theologian
Claude Moss� -- (Ms), historian
Denis Papin
Louis Pasteur -- scientist
Blaise Pascal -- mathematician and philosopher
�tienne Pascal -- mathematician
Henri Poincar� -- scientist
Simeon Poisson -- mathematician and physicist
Jean Rostand
Albert Soboul -- historian
Jean-Pierre Vernant -- historian
Pierre Vidal-Naquet -- historian and Civil Rights activist
Pierre Vilar, historian
Christophe Victor -- geographer
Paul-Emile Victor -- ethnologist

Sculptors

Sportsmen and -women

Tariq Abdul-Wahad -- NBA player (born Olivier Saint-Jean)
Louis Acaries -- boxer, former world title challenger, now promoter
Jacques Anquetil -- cyclist
Fabien Barthez -- football player
Louison Bobet -- cyclist
Surya Bonaly - figure skater
Philippe Candeloro - figure skater
Eric Cantona -- football player
Georges Carpentier -- world champion boxer
Marcel Cerdan -- world champion boxer
Eugene Criqui -- world champion boxer
Emile Delahaye -- race car pioneer
Marcel Desailly -- Ghana born French citizen, football player
David Douillet -- judo
Laurent Fignon -- cyclist
Thierry Henry -- football player
Bernard Hinault -- cyclist
Constant Huret -- cyclist
Olivier Jacque -- motorcycle rider
Rene Jacquot -- boxer, underdog who became world champion
Laurent Jalabert -- cyclist
Jean-Claude Killy -- skier
Suzanne Lenglen -- tennis player
Bixente Lizarazu - football player
Jeannie Longo -- cyclist
Amelie Mauresmo -- tennis player
Jose Meiffret -- cyclist
Alain Mimoun -- athlete
Antoine Monteiro -- boxer, lost to Santos Laciar for the world title
Carole Montillet -- skier
Yannick Noah -- tennis player
Tony Parker -- Belgian born French citizen, NBA player
Marie-Jos� Perec -- athlete
Mary Pierce-- Canadian born French citizen, tennis player
Michel Platini -- football player
Alain Prost -- automobile racer
Marcel Thil -- world champion boxer
Christophe Tiozzo -- world champion boxer
Fabrice Tiozzo -- world champion boxer, Christophe's brother
Patrick Vieira -- Senegal born French citizen, football player
Jean-Pierre Wimille, race car driver
Zin�dine Zidane -- football player

Theologians

Marie-Emile Boismard o.p.

Jacques-B�nigne Bossuet
Jean Calvin
Sebastian Castellion -- translator of the Bible
Bernard of Clairvaux
Yves Congar o.p.
Andr� Gounelle
Pierre Lagrange o.p. -- founder of the Ecole Biblique et Archeologique de J�rusalem
Hubert Languet
Maurice Leenhardt -- ethnologist, theologien
Etienne Mennegoz
Wilfred Monod
Etienne Nodet o.p.
Rachi de Champagne
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin s.j.
Auguste Sabatier
Antonin Sertillanges o.p. -- founder of the Revue Thomiste
Bernard Sesbou� s.j.

Others

Andr� the Giant, professional wrestler
Fr�d�ric Bartholdi
Paul Bocuse -- Chief cook
Andr� Citroen
Charles Cros -- poet and inventor
Jeanne d'Arc -- (Joan of Arc) warrior, Saint.
Pierre de Coubertin -- initiator of the modern Olympic Games
Bob Denard -- mercenary
Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt
Ninon de l'Enclos -- courtesan, patron of the arts
Cavalier de la Salle -- explorer
Alfred Dreyfus
Ren� Dumont -- agronomist engineer and sociologist and ecology activist
Jules Dumont d'Urville
Eleuth�re Ir�n�e du Pont de Nemours -- entrepreneur, founder of DuPont
Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours -- entrepreneur
Maurice Duverger -- jurist
Gustave Eiffel -- engineer
Marquis de la Fayette -- military leader in the American Revolution
Ferdinand Foch -- general
Paul H�roult -- inventor
Claude de Jouffroy d'Abbans, designed the first steamship in 1783
Ren� Lalique -- artist
Charles Leclerc -- general
Jacques-Donatien Le Ray -- a "Father of the American Revolution"
Auguste and Louis Lumi�re -- inventors
Jean Paul Marat
Marcel Mazoyer -- agronomist
Montgolfier brothers -- balloonists
Jean-Marie Pelt -- botanist
Lionel Poil�ne -- boulanger
Elis�e Reclus -- geographer and anarchist
Maximilien Robespierre
Jean Eug�ne Robert-Houdin -- magician, namesake of "Harry Houdini"
Philippe Starck - designer