Black French people
Regions with significant populations | |
---|---|
Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Nantes, French West Indies, French Guiana, Réunion, Mayotte, New Caledonia | |
Languages | |
French; various African languages, French Creoles and others | |
Religion | |
Christianity, others |
French Black people or Black people in France (French: Noirs de France) are people who are of Black African ancestry or Afro-Caribbean.
Population statistics
Although it is illegal for the French state to collect data on ethnicity and race, a law with its origins in the 1789 revolution and reaffirmed in the constitution of 1958,[1] various population estimates exist. One source states that there are 1.5 million black people in France,[2] while another states 1.865 million, equivalent to just under 4 per cent of the population.[3] An article in the New York Times stated that estimates vary between 3 million and 5 million.[4] It is estimated that four out of five black people in France are of African immigrant origin, with the minority being chiefly of Caribbean ancestry.[5][6]
Some organizations, such as the Representative Council of France's Black Associations (Template:Lang-fr, CRAN), have argued in favour of the introduction of data collection on minority groups but this has been resisted by other organizations and ruling politicians,[7][8] often on the grounds that collecting such statistics goes against France's secular principles and harks back to Vichy-era identity documents.[9] During the 2007 presidential election, however, Nicolas Sarkozy was polled on the issue and stated that he favoured the collection of data on ethnicity.[10] Part of a parliamentary bill which would have permitted the collection of data for the purpose of measuring discrimination was rejected by the Conseil Constitutionnel in November 2007.[1]
Notable people
In French politics
Afro-French members of the French Parliament or government from overseas France
There have been dozens of Afro-Caribbean or Afro-French MPs representing overseas electoral districts at the French National Assembly or at the French Senate, and several government members.
- Aimé Césaire, mayor of Fort-de-France and deputy from Martinique for the PCF/Martinican Progressive Party.
- Serge Letchimy, deputy for Martinique Socialist Party, Letchimy is also of partial Tamil descent.
- Christiane Taubira, deputy from French Guiana, was the first Black candidate to a French presidential election, in 2002. In 2012, she became the Justice Minister.
Afro-French people elected in metropolitan France
- Severiano de Heredia, president of the municipal council of Paris (1879-1880/ sort of mayor of Paris ), deputy for Paris (1881-1889), minister (1887)
- Élie Bloncourt (1896-1978), second Black metropolitan deputy (1936–40, 1945–47), first Black metropolitan general councillor (1934–40, 1945–51)[11]
- Ernest Chénière (1945-), former deputy for Oise (1993–97)
- Raphaël Élizé (fr) (1891-1945), first Black metropolitan mayor (1929–40)[12]
- Hélène Geoffroy, deputy for Rhône, mayor
- Gaston Monnerville (1897-1991), first Black metropolitan senator (1946-1974), president of the French Senate (1947–68), mayor, president of Lot's general council
- George Pau-Langevin, Paris deputy (2007–12), junior minister (2012-2014), Minister for Overseas (2014-)
- Arthur Richards (1890-1972), general councillor in Bordeaux (1951-1964), deputy for Gironde (1958–67)
- Rama Yade, former minister
- Kofi Yamgnane, former minister, former MP, former mayor, former general councillor in Brittany
Political activists
- Frantz Fanon, Marxist, existentialist and anti-colonial author and activist. Renounced his French citizenship.
- Louis-Georges Tin, president of the Representative Council of France's Black Associations and founder of the International Day Against Homophobia
In sports
In basketball
In football
In entertainment and media
- Josephine Baker, dancer and singer
- Mouss Diouf, actor
- Miss Dominique, singer
- Fabe, rapper
- Hélène and Célia Faussart (Les Nubians), singing duo
- Imany, singer
- Hubert Kounde, actor
- Lord Kossity, Dancehall musician
- Dieudonné M'bala M'bala, comedian and anti-zionist activist
- Fab Morvan, model and singer, half of Milli Vanilli
- Audrey Pulvar, newscaster and journalist
- Firmine Richard, actress
- Harry Roselmack, newscaster
- Omar Sy, actor
- Olivier Coipel, comic book artist
- Black M, rapper
- MHD, rapper
European / African (or Afro-Caribbean) descent
- Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, general in the French Revolution and father of Alexandre Dumas
- Thierry Dusautoir, rugby player
- Chevalier de Saint-Georges, composer, conductor, and violinist
- Rudy Gobert, basketball player
- Noémie Lenoir, model
- Chloé Mortaud, Miss France 2009
- Anais Mali, model
- Yannick Noah, tennis player
- Tony Parker, basketball player
- Sonia Rolland, actress, Miss France 2000
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, tennis player
- Flora Coquerel, Miss France 2014
- Alicia Aylies, Miss France 2017
See also
- African immigration to France
- African Americans in France
- Cape Verdeans in France
- Haitians in France
References
- ^ a b Oppenheimer, David B. (2008). "Why France needs to collect data on racial identity...in a French way". Hastings International and Comparative Law Review. 31 (2): 735–752. SSRN 1236362.
- ^ Tagliabue, John (2005-09-21). "French blacks skeptical of race neutrality". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ "First French racism poll released". BBC News. 2007-01-31. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ Kimmelman, Michael (2008-06-17). "For blacks in France, Obama's rise is reason to rejoice, and to hope". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ Bennhold, Katrin (2006-08-03). "Black anchor fills top spot on French TV". International Herald Tribune. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ "Franceblack". Retrieved 2010-04-06.
- ^ Louis-Georges, Tin (2008). "Who is afraid of Blacks in France? The Black question: The name taboo, the number taboo". French Politics, Culture & Society. 26 (1): 32–44. doi:10.3167/fpcs.2008.260103.
- ^ "Black residents of France say they are discriminated against". International Herald Tribune. 2007-01-31. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ "France's ethnic minorities: To count or not to count". The Economist. 390 (8624): 62. 2009-03-28.
- ^ Chrisafis, Angelique (2007-02-24). "French presidential candidates divided over race census". The Guardian. p. 25. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ Pierre-Yves Lambert, “Conseillers généraux d'origine non-européenne Archived July 15, 2012, at archive.today”, Suffrage Universel
- ^ Pierre-Yves Lambert, “Maires métropolitains d'origine non-européenne Archived July 14, 2012, at archive.today”, Suffrage Universel
- African diaspora in France
- Caribbean French
- French people of Senegalese descent
- French people of Malian descent
- French people of Cameroonian descent
- French people of Ivorian descent
- French people of Togolese descent
- French people of Guadeloupean descent
- French people of Martiniquais descent
- French people of French Guianan descent
- French people of Guinean descent
- French people of Malagasy descent
- French people of Cape Verdean descent
- French people of Gabonese descent
- French people of Beninese descent
- French people of Comorian descent
- French people of Ghanaian descent
- French people of Burkinabé descent
- French people of Angolan descent
- French people of Kenyan descent
- French people of Rwandan descent
- French people of Mauritian descent
- French people of Seychellois descent
- French people of Haitian descent
- People of African descent
- Ethnic groups in France
- French people of Republic of the Congo descent
- French people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent