List of Famous people born in France

Jean-Claude Pecker was a French astronomer, astrophysicist and author, member of the French Academy of Sciences and director of the Nice Observatory. He served as the secretary-general of the International Astronomical Union from 1964 to 1967. Pecker was the President of the Société astronomique de France (SAF), the French amateur astronomical society, from 1973–1976. He was awarded the Prix Jules Janssen by the French Astronomical Society in 1967. A minor planet is named after him. Pecker was a vocal opponent of astrology and pseudo-science and was the president of the Association française pour l'information scientifique (AFIS), a skeptical organisation which promotes scientific enquiry in the face of quackery and obscurantism.

Vincent Ferniot is a French actor, television presenter and culinary writer.

Daniel Contet was a French international tennis player. He competed in 16 ties for the French Davis Cup team between 1961 and 1969.

Henri Queffélec was a French writer and screenwriter.

Casimir-Pierre Périer was a prominent French banker, mine owner, political leader and statesman. In business, through his bank in Paris and ownership of the Anzin Coal Co. in the Department of Nord, he contributed significantly to the economic development of France in the early stages of industrialization. In politics, he was a leading liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies throughout the Bourbon Restoration and president of the chamber at the outset of the July Revolution of 1830. He led the liberal-conservative Resistance Party in support of the constitutional monarchy of Louis-Philippe I. He became president of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Interior in the spring of 1831. Although his ministry was brief, his strong government succeeded in restoring order at home and keeping peace abroad. He fell victim to the cholera epidemic in France in 1832.

Élie Brousse was a French rugby league player for Roanne, Marseille and Lyon Villeurbanne in the French rugby league championship competition. His position of choice was as a second-row.

Patrick Collot is a French football manager and former professional player, who played as a midfielder.

Jacques Michel Gabriel Paul Benoist-Méchin was a French far right politician and writer. He was born and died in Paris. Well known as a journalist and historian, he later became prominent for his collaborationism under the Vichy regime. After his conviction in 1947 and release from prison in 1954, he became an Arab world expert in the second part of his life.

Nicolas Joel or Joël was a French opera director and administrator of opera houses. He was general manager of the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse from 1990 to 2009 and of the Paris Opera from 2009 to 2014. He directed operas internationally.

Jeanne Modigliani was an Italian-French Jewish art historian mostly known for her biographical research on her father, artist Amedeo Modigliani. In 1958 she wrote the book Modigliani: Man and Myth, later translated into English from the Italian by Esther Rowland Clifford.