• Source: Black French people

Black French people also known as French Black people or Afro-French (Afro-Français) are French people who are Sub-Saharan African (including Afro-Caribbean, Malagasy and Afro-Arabs) and Melanesian. It also includes people of mixed ancestry.
The absence of a legal definition of what it means to be "black" in France, the extent of anti-miscegenation laws over several centuries, the great diversity of black populations (African, Caribbean, etc) and the lack of legal recognition of ethnicity in French population censuses make this social entity extremely difficult to define, unlike in countries such as the United States.




Definition issues


In France, there is no formal definition of ethnicity, particularly in terms of its relationship to French identity or to métissage. However, this type of identity may be reflected in organizations such as the Conseil représentatif des associations noires, or in other ways.
Much of the academic literature dedicated to black people comes from the USA, where "black identity" is relatively homogeneous: these are essentially the descendants of slaves brought over in the 18th century to work on the plantations of the American Southeast. However, the definition of "black" in the United States, based on the "One-drop rule", is also highly open to criticism, and only partially correlates with skin color and historical trajectory.
If the black Americans can be roughly compared to French black people from the overseas departments (notably the West Indies, even if equal rights there go back much further than in the US), the bulk of dark-skinned people living in mainland France have nothing to do with this pattern or with the history of slavery: as historian and former minister Pap Ndiaye points out, in France "the black group is infinitely diverse socially and culturally, and lumping all blacks into the same categorical bag is a problematic operation."
This great complexity in talking about "Blacks" served as the basis for the screenplay of the film Tout simplement noir (by Jean-Pascal Zadi and John Wax, 2020), which illustrates the distance between personalities such as Claudia Tagbo (a naturalized French actress from Côte d'Ivoire), Omar Sy (a French actor born in Trappes to Senegalese and Malian parents), Lucien Jean-Baptiste (an actor from Martinique) and JoeyStarr (born in Paris to Martinique parents of Afro-Caribbean, Breton and Chinese descent), Éric Judor (born to a father of mixed race from Guadeloupe and an Austrian mother) and Vikash Dhorasoo (of south Indian origin).
Other non-African black-skinned ethnic groups include some of the Dravidian peoples of southern India, and the Melanesians of the south-western Pacific Ocean (including the French territory of New Caledonia), of whom Christian Karembeu is a famous representative.





























Population statistics


Although it is illegal for the government of France to collect data on ethnicity and race in the census (a law with its origins in the 1789 revolution and reaffirmed in the constitution of 1958), various population estimates exist. An article in The New York Times in 2008 stated that estimates vary between 3 million and 5 million. 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.

Some organizations, such as the Representative Council of France's Black Associations (French: Conseil représentatif des associations noires de France, CRAN), have argued in favor of the introduction of data collection on minority groups but this has been resisted by other organizations and ruling politicians, often on the grounds that collecting such statistics goes against France's secular principles and harkens back to Vichy-era identity documents. During the 2007 presidential election, however, Nicolas Sarkozy was polled on the issue and stated that he favoured the collection of data on ethnicity. 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.




Notable people






= In French politics

=



Afro-French members of the French Parliament or government from overseas France


There have been dozens of Afro-Caribbean, Kanak, and Afro-French MPs representing overseas electoral districts at the French National Assembly or at the French Senate, and several government members.

Jean-Baptiste Belley, first black politician to take seat at the National Convention when elected on 24 September 1793, as one of three members (deputés) elected to the French Parliament by the northern region of Saint-Domingue.
Hégésippe Légitimus, second black deputy elected to the French National Assembly from 1898–1902 and 1906-1914.
Gratien Candace, politician from Guadeloupe who served in the French Chamber of Deputies from 1912 to 1942 and served as vice-president of the French Chamber of Deputies from 1938 to 1940.
Blaise Diagne, political leader and mayor of Dakar. He was the first person of West African origin elected to the French Chamber of Deputies,: 111  and the first to hold a position in the French government.
Ngalandou Diouf, elected in 1909 to represent the commune of Rufisque at the advisory General Assembly (Conseil Général) of Saint-Louis, then capital of colonial Senegal.: 109–110 
Achille René-Boisneuf, Guadeloupe politician and one of the first black deputies in the French National Assembly. He is incorrectly given the name Émile instead of Achille in Jean Joly's Dictionnaire des parlementaires français de 1889 à 1940 1946.
Maurice Satineau, politician from Guadeloupe who served in the Senate from 1948-1958 and the French Chamber of Deputies from 1936 to 1942 (the Chamber was not summoned between 1940 and 1942)
Roger Bambuck, Minister of Youth and Sports from 1988 to 1991.
Aimé Césaire, mayor of Fort-de-France and deputy from Martinique for the PCF/Martinican Progressive Party.
Jean-Louis d'Anglebermes, Kanak politician from Caledonian Union.
Félix Éboué, French Guianan-born colonial administrator and Free French leader.
Laura Flessel-Colovic, she became the Sport Minister in 2017.
Serge Letchimy, deputy for Martinique Socialist Party, Letchimy is also of partial Tamil descent.
Gaston Monnerville, politician and lawyer, he was the president of the Senate from 1958 to 1968.
Maurice Ponga, New Caledonian politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Overseas constituency from 2009 to 2019.
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 until 2016.
Manuéla Kéclard-Mondésir, deputy from Martinique



Afro-French people elected in metropolitan France

Louis Guizot (1740-1794), magistrate, became the very first Black Mayor of a town in metropolitan France in 1790, before ending up guillotined during the Reign of Terror.
Severiano de Heredia, president of the municipal council of Paris (1879–1880/ sort of mayor of Paris ), deputy for Paris (1881–1889), minister (1887)
Blaise Diagne (1872-1934), first person of Sub-Saharan African origin elected to the French Chamber of Deputies, and the first to hold a position in the French government.
Raphaël Élizé (1891–1945), first Black metropolitan mayor elected through universal suffrage (1929–40)
Élie Bloncourt (1896–1978), second Black metropolitan deputy (1936–40, 1945–47), first Black metropolitan general councillor (1934–40, 1945–51)
Ernest Chénière (1945–), former deputy for Oise (1993–97)
Hélène Geoffroy, deputy for Rhône, mayor
Maxette Grisoni-Pirbakas, elected an MEP in 2019.
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 and secretary of State
Harlem Désir, former minister for European Affairs and MEP, former First Secretary of the French Socialist Party
Kofi Yamgnane, former minister, former MP, former mayor, former general councillor in Brittany.
Hervé Berville, Rwandan genocide survivor, French economist and politician, Côtes-d'Armor MP for La République En Marche! since June 2017, party spokesperson.
Seybah Dagoma, then 34-year-old lawyer of Chadian descent and founding member of a left-wing think tank, was elected in a Parisian constituency in 2012 and in office until 2017.
Laetitia Avia, lawyer of Togolese descent, member of the National Assembly for the Paris's 6th constituency elected in 2017, defeated in 2022
Danièle Obono, Gabonese descent MP for La France Insoumise representing the 17th Paris constituency since the legislative elections of 2017.
Nadège Abomangoli, deputy from Seine-Saint-Denis
Pap Ndiaye, historian of Franco-Senegalese descent, Minister of National Education and Youth from 20 May 2022 – 20 July 2023 in the Élisabeth Borne government.
Rachel Keke, Ivorian-born French politician and former chambermaid, now member of the National Assembly since 2022, representing the 7th constituency of the Val-de-Marne department.
Fanta Berete, politician of Renaissance who has been serving as a Member of Parliament for Paris's 12th constituency since 2022. She was the substitute of Olivia Grégoire who became a government minister.
Carlos Martens Bilongo, French teacher and politician who has represented the 8th constituency of the Val-d'Oise department in the National Assembly since 2022 for La France Insoumise (FI), he was elected under the New Ecological and Social People's Union (NUPES) alliance.



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
Rokhaya Diallo, French journalist, BET-France host, author, filmmaker, and activist for racial, gender and religious equality.
Sibeth Ndiaye, French-Senegalese communications advisor. Government Spokeswoman for Édouard Philippe's government from April 2019 to July 2020.
Susanna Ounei, Kanak independence activist.
Stéphane Pocrain, co-founder of CRAN (Conseil Représentatif des Associations Noires de France) and ecologist militant.
Fodé Sylla, co-founder of CRAN, second president of the French anti-racist organisation SOS Racisme between 1992 and 1999.




= In sports

=



In basketball




In football




In rugby




Other sports

Christine Arron, track and field sprint athlete
Roger Bambuck, track and field sprint athlete
Surya Bonaly, Olympic figure skater
Stéphen Boyer, volleyball player
Laura Flessel-Colovic, fencer
Vanessa James, Olympic figure skater
Gaël Monfils, tennis player
Daniel Narcisse, team handball player, IHF World Player of the Year 2012
Francis Ngannou, mixed martial artist
Earvin N'Gapeth, volleyball player
Barthélémy Chinenyeze, volleyball player
Éric N'Gapeth, father of Earvin, volleyball player
Yannick Noah, last French French Open tennis winner to this day (1983), current French Davis Cup coach
Marie-José Pérec, multiple Olympic gold medal sprinter
Jackson Richardson, team handball player, IHF World Player of the Year 1995
Teddy Riner, judoka
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, tennis player
Arthur Fils, tennis player
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard , tennis player
Marc Raquil, French track and field athlete
Ladji Doucouré, former French track and field athlete now INSEP coach




= In entertainment and media

=
Ralph Amoussou, actor and thespian

Josephine Baker, dancer, singer, actress, wartime spy for the Free French Resistance and French Airforce lieutenant nurse
Edmond Dédé, French-American Classical musician and composer from New Orleans, Louisiana who settled in France in the early 1860s
Darling Légitimus, Volpi Cup for Best Actress-winning actress
Euzhan Palcy, film director, screenwriter, and producer, Academy Honorary Award lifetime distinction recipient
Guillaume Guillon-Lethière, painter
Élé Asu, journalist and TV presenter of Nigerian descent
Édouard Montoute, French actor and thespian
Dominique Thimbakala, TV newscaster for BFM TV
Kareen Guiock, TV newscaster for M6
Mouss Diouf, actor
Aude Legastelois, actress
Ladj Ly, film director and screenwriter
Aya Nakamura, singer
Miss Dominique, singer
Fabe, rapper
Hélène and Célia Faussart (Les Nubians), singing duo
Aissa Maiga, actress
Sonia Rolland, actress
Imany, singer
Hubert Kounde, actor and thespian
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
Dominik Bernard, stage and film actor and director of Guadeloupe origin
Harry Roselmack, newscaster
Omar Sy, César-winning actor
Tété, French pop-folk-blues composer-writer-interpreter, of Martinique and Senegalese descent, often likened to a Francophone Jeff Buckley
Steve Tientcheu, actor
Olivier Coipel, comic book artist
Bukola Elemide, Female musician
Black M, rapper
Gims, rapper
Lefa, rapper
MHD, rapper
MC Solaar, cult French rapper
Niska, rapper
Dadju, singer
Shy'm, pop singer
Les Twins, new-style hip-hop dancers
Ziak (fr), rapper
Jacky Brown and Ben-J (Nèg' Marrons (fr)), reggae & hip-hop duo




= In literature

=
Calixthe Beyala, writer
Aimé Césaire, writer
Suzanne Césaire, writer
Maryse Condé, writer
Raphaël Confiant, writer and academic
Léon Damas, writer
Gerty Dambury, writer, educator and theatre director from Guadeloupe
Fatou Diome, best-selling and award-winning author of Senegalese origin
David Diop, novelist and academic researcher in 18th-century French and Francophone African literature
Édouard Glissant, writer
Viktor Lazlo, singer, actress and novelist
René Maran, poet and novelist, first black writer to win the French Prix Goncourt (in 1921)
Daniel Maximin, poet, novelist, essayist
Jeanne Nardal, writer, philosopher, teacher, and political commentator from Martinique
Paulette Nardal, writer and journalist
Marie NDiaye, writer
Gaël Octavia, writer, playwright, film director and painter
Daniel Picouly, author
Gisèle Pineau, novelist, writer and former psychiatric nurse
Claude Ribbe, writer, activist and filmmaker
Raphaël Tardon, writer, novelist and essayist of Martinique origin
Guy Tirolien, poet
Joseph Zobel, author of several novels and short-stories




= European / African (or Afro-Caribbean) descent

=

Alexandre Dumas, writer
Alexandre Dumas fils, writer
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, master fencer and military man
Rudy Gobert, basketball player
Noémie Lenoir, model
Chevalier de Meude-Monpas, French musician and composer
Chloé Mortaud, Miss France 2009
Anais Mali, model
Sonia Rolland, actress, Miss France 2000
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, tennis player
Gaël Monfils, tennis player
Flora Coquerel, Miss France 2014
Alicia Aylies, Miss France 2017
Willy William, singer and producer
Cindy Bruna, model
Ciryl Gane, mixed martial artist




See also



Zaire
Belgium
Switzerland
African Americans in France
Haitians in France
Racism in France
African diaspora




References

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• Black French people
• Black people
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• Racism in France