List of Famous people born in France
Mandy François-Elie
Mandy François-Élie is a French Paralympian athlete competing in the category T37. François-Élie won the T37 100m sprint at the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games at London and followed this with both the 100m and 200m titles at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon.
Charles Pathé
Charles Morand Pathé was a pioneer of the French film and recording industries. As the founder of Pathé Frères, its roots lie in 1896 Paris, France, when Pathé and his brothers pioneered the development of the moving image. Pathé adopted the national emblem of France, the cockerel, as the trademark for his company. After the company, now called Compagnie Générale des Éstablissements Pathé Frères Phonographes & Cinématographes, invented the cinema newsreel with Pathé-Journal.
Philippe Gardent
Philippe Gardent is a French handball player who won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics. He played six matches and scored 16 goals. He was the captain of the French teams that won the world title in 1995 and placed second in 1993. Since retiring from competitions in 1996 he worked as a handball coach, with Chambéry Savoie Handball (1996–2012), Paris Saint-Germain Handball (2012–2015) and Fenix Toulouse Handball.
Éric Serra
Éric Serra is a French musician and composer. He is a frequent collaborator of film director Luc Besson.
Randy de Puniet
Randy de Puniet is a road racer of motorcycles from France. He competed in Grands Prix racing between 1998 and 2014, where he achieved five wins in the 250cc class. He also competed in the Superbike World Championship during the 2015 season with little success. He currently competes in the MotoE World Cup, aboard an Energica Ego Corsa.
Garance Le Guillermic
Garance Le Guillermic is a French former child actress.
Charles Huntziger
Charles Huntziger was a French Army general during World War I and World War II. He was born at Lesneven (Finistère) of a family of German descent. He graduated from Saint-Cyr in 1900 and joined the colonial infantry. During World War I, he served in the Middle Eastern theatre. He was chief of staff of operations of the Allied Expeditionary Force. In 1918, he participated in the development of General Louis Franchet d'Espèrey's Vardar Offensive against German and Bulgarian forces which would lead to Allied victory and the signing of the Armistice of Mudros in October 1918.
Louis Pergaud
Louis Pergaud was a French novelist, war poet, and soldier, whose principal works were known as "Animal Stories" due to his featuring animals of the Franche-Comté in lead roles. His most notable work was the novel La Guerre des boutons (1912). It has been reprinted more than 30 times, and is included on the French high-school curriculum.
René Fontès
René Fontès was a French rugby union executive and politician. He was the club president of Top 14 side Clermont Auvergne from 2004 to 2013. He was also mayor of the Eygalières commune in Bouches-du-Rhône from 2008 until his death in 2019.
Jean Cau
Jean Cau was a French writer and journalist.