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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. 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 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)
- Michel Debré, Prime Minister (1959-1962; leading Gaullist) (Jewish father)
- Laurent Fabius, Prime Minister (1984-6) (Jewish father)
- Georges Mandel , Interior Minister (1939)
- René Mayer, Prime Minister (1953) (unconfirmed)
- 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
Military
- Denise Bloch, WW2 Spy
- Paul Bloch , resistance general
- Alfred Dreyfus, military officer
- Manouchian Group , French Resistance group (mostly Jewish)
Academic figures
Scientists
- Hippolyte Bernheim , hypnosis pioneer
- Georges Charpak, physicist, Nobel Prize (1992)
- Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, physicist, Nobel Prize (1997)
- Robert Debré, paediatrician
- Mikhail Gromov, mathematician, Wolf Prize (1993)
- Alexander Grothendieck, mathematician, Fields Medal (1966) (Jewish father)
- Jacques Hadamard, mathematician
- François Jacob, biologist, Nobel Prize (1965)
- Henri Kagan , chemist, Wolf Prize (2001)
- Paul Lévy, mathematician
- Albert Libchaber , chaos theorist, Wolf Prize (1986)
- Gabriel Lippmann, physicist, Nobel Prize (1908)
- Michel Loève, mathematician
- André Lwoff, microbiologist, Nobel Prize (1965)
- Benoit Mandelbrot, mathematician, Wolf Prize (1993)
- Szolem Mandelbrojt, mathematician
- Henri Moissan, chemist, Nobel Prize (1906) (Jewish mother)
- Olinde Rodrigues, mathematician & social reformer
- Laurent Schwartz, mathematician, Fields Medal (1950)
- André Weil, mathematician, Wolf Prize (1979)
Social scientists
- Raymond Aron, sociologist
- Jacques Attali, economist, writer
- Julien Benda, philosopher & novelist
- Émile Benveniste, linguist
- Henri Bergson, philosopher, Nobel Prize (1927)
- Marc Bloch, historian & Resistance leader
- Léon Brunschvicg , philosopher
- Hélène Cixous, feminist critic
- Jacques Derrida, philosopher
- Emile Durkheim, sociologist
- Alain Finkielkraut, essayist
- Gersonides, philosopher
- Maurice Halbwachs, sociologist
- Robert Hertz, sociologist
- Vladimir Jankélévitch , philosopher & music critic
- Claude Lévi-Strauss, anthropologist
- Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, philosopher & anthropologist
- Emmanuel Levinas, philosopher
- Gabriel Marcel, philosopher (Jewish mother)
- Marcel Mauss, sociologist
- Nostradamus, astrologer & seer (Jewish parents)
- Rashi, religious commentator
- Maxime Rodinson, historian
- George Steiner, literary critic (French-born)
- Simone Weil, philosopher & mystic
Cultural figures
Film and stage
- Alexandre Arcady , director
- Arthur , radio and TV host, producer
- Anouk Aimée, actress
- Yvan Attal, director & actor
- Jean-Pierre Aumont, actor (Jewish father)
- Harry Baur , actor (Jewish father)
- Jean Benguigui , actor
- Sarah Bernhardt, stage actress (Jewish mother)
- Claude Berri, director
- Michel Boujenah , actor, director, humorist
- David Charvet, TV actor
- Elie Chouraqui , director
- Gad Elmaleh , humorist, actor
- Charlotte Gainsbourg, actress (Jewish father)
- Judith Godrèche, actress
- Vanessa Guedj , actress
- Roger Hanin, actor
- Agnès Jaoui , director & actress
- Marin Karmitz, producer
- Mathieu Kassovitz, director & actor (Jewish father)
- Véra Korène, actress & stage director
- Claude Lanzmann, director
- Claude Lelouch, director
- Marcel Marceau, mime artist
- Jean-Pierre Melville, director
- Raphaël Mezrahi , humorist
- Serge Moati , director, TV host
- Marcel Ophuls, director
- Rachel, stage actress
- Elie Semoun , humorist, actor
- Simone Signoret, actress (Jewish father)
- Patrick Timsit , humorist, actor
- François Truffaut, director (Jewish biological father whom he never met)
- William Wyler, director
- Elsa Zylberstein , actress
Musicians
- Adolphe Adam, composer
- Charles-Valentin Alkan, composer & pianist
- Barbara, singer
- Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schonberg, musical writers
- 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
- Sacha Distel, singer (Jewish mother)
- Paul Dukas, composer
- Laïka Fatien , jazz singer (Jewish mother)
- Serge Gainsbourg, singer
- Jean-Jacques Goldman, singer, composer
- Joseph Kosma , film composer
- Wanda Landowska, harpsichordist
- Enrico Macias , singer
- Darius Milhaud, composer
- Mireille, singer, composer
- Pierre Monteux, conductor
- Jacques Offenbach, composer
- Catherine Ringer , singer, actress (Jewish father)
- Sapho , singer
- Alexandre Tansman, composer, pianist
- Emil Waldteufel, composer
Artists
- Balthus, painter (Jewish mother)
- Brassaï, photographer
- Claude Cahun, photographer
- Marc Chagall, painter
- André François , cartoonist
- Michel Kikoine, painter
- Moise Kisling, painter
- Pinchus Kremegne, painter
- Jules Pascin, painter
- Camille Pissarro, painter
- Sonia Rykiel, fashion designer
- Joann Sfar, cartoonist
- Chaim Soutine, painter
- Philippe Starck, designer (unconfirmed)
- Pauline Trigère , fashion designer
- Ossip Zadkine, sculptor
Writers and poets
- Tristan Bernard, playwright & novelist
- Paul Celan, poet
- Jerome Federman , writer
- Romain Gary, novelist
- Françoise Giroud , journalist, L'Express co-founder
- Eugène Ionesco, playwright (Jewish mother)
- Isidore Isou , poet
- Max Jacob, poet
- Edmond Jabès , poet
- Gustave Kahn, poet & art critic
- Joseph Kessel, novelist & journalist
- Jacques Lanzmann , writer
- Bernard-Henri Lévy, writer
- André Maurois, author
- Albert Memmi, novelist & sociologist
- Patrick Modiano , writer (Jewish father)
- Michel de Montaigne, essayist (Jewish mother)
- Georges Perec, novelist
- Marcel Proust, writer (Jewish mother)
- Yasmina Reza , playwright
- Claude Sarraute , journalist, writer
- Jean-Jacques Schuhl , writer
- Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, journalist, L'Express co-founder
- 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
- Marcel Dassault, aerospace industrialist
- Maurice Girodias , founder of Olympia Press (Jewish father)
- Philippe Kahn, founder of Borland
- Alexandre , Simon & Elie Lazard , founders of Lazard
- Armand , Georges , Maurice & Paul Marciano , founders of GUESS
- Gilbert Trigano , founder of Club Med (unconfirmed)
- Pierre Wertheimer , co-founder 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
- Savielly Tartakower, chess grandmaster
See also
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