The Romanians in France are

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

of Romanian heritage who are born in Romania and live as immigrants in France or are born in France from a Romanian immigrant family that came to France in the early 20th century. Today, about 120,000 Romanian-born citizens live in France, and there is an unknown number of French citizens with Romanian ancestry.

History

Romanians had registered a presence on France's soil since the first part of the 19th century. The first Romanians that arrived at that time were mainly rich

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

s who came to study, principally in science and physics domains. Most of them returned to Romania after finishing their studies, although a significant number remained in France. During World War I, some Romanian soldiers were sent to France when the Kingdom of Romania joined the Allies in 1916, to help French troops in the fight against Germany. An important figure of the Romanian-French population arrived in France in the 1950s, after the end of the war, in a period when both Romania and France were experiencing a very difficult period in their history, and were still recovering from the disasters caused by the conflict. Most of the Romanian population settled in Paris, Lille and other big cities in the north of France. Another large wave of Romanian emigrants made their way in France in the 1990s, after the fall of Communism in Romania, caused by the Romanian Revolution of 1989. After that important event, millions of Romanians left their homeland in order to come to the West, to the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, United Kingdom, Spain, etc., where up to this day they still form significant communities. More than half of the present-day number of Romanian-French arrived after 1990.

French language in Romania

English and French are the main foreign languages taught in schools. In 2010, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie identifies French speakers in the country. According to the 2012 Eurobarometer, English is spoken by 59% of Romanians, French is spoken by 25%.

Notable people

Art

Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian Sculpture, sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century and a pioneer of ...

(1876–1957), sculptor and painter *

Margaret Cossaceanu Margaret Cossaceanu, born Margareta Cosăceanu, later Margaret Cossaceanu-Lavrillier (4 January 1893– 22 September 1980) was a French sculptor of Romanian origin. Biography Margaret Cossaceanu, was born in Bucharest and was the niece of sci ...

(1893–1980), sculptor * (1925–2006), painter and sculptor *

Horia Damian Horia Damian ( Bucharest, 27 Feb 1922 - Paris 14 May 2012) was a Romanian painter and sculptor. Biography Damian enrolled at the School of Architecture in Bucharest in 1941. In that same year he made his debut at the Salonul Official de Pic ...

(1922–2012), painter and sculptor *

Natalia Dumitresco Natalia Dumitresco (born Natalia Dumitrescu; 20 December 1915 in Bucharest, Romania – 3 July 1997 in Chars, France) was a French-Romanian abstract painter associated with the ''Réalités Nouvelles'' salon of Paris after the Second World ...

(1915–1997), painter *

Tania Mouraud Tania Mouraud (born January 2, 1942, in Paris) is a contemporary French video artist and photographer. Early life An autodidact, Tania Mouraud began her artistic career when young with ''Initiation rooms'', spaces dedicated to introspection ...

(b. 1942), contemporary artist * Stefan Ramniceanu (b. 1954), painter and visual artist

Film and television

* Jean Aurel (1925–1996), film director and screenwriter * Claude Berri (1934–2009), film director, producer and screenwriter (Romanian mother) * Lorànt Deutsch (b. 1975), actor (Romanian mother) *

Julie Dreyfus Julie Dreyfus (born 24 January 1966) is a French actress who is well known in Japan where she made her television debut on a French language lesson program on NHK's educational channel in the late 1980s. She has appeared on the TV show ''Ryō ...

(b. 1966), actress * Jany Holt (1909–2005), actress * Eva Ionesco (b. 1965), actress, film director and screenwriter * Michèle Laroque (b. 1960), actress and screenwriter (Romanian mother) * Lana Marconi (1917–1990), actress * Alexandre Mihalesco (1883–1974), actor * Radu Mihăileanu (b. 1958), film director and screenwriter * Elvira Popescu (1894–1993), actress *

Josiane Stoléru Josiane Stoléru is a French film, television and theatre actress. Stoléru was born and raised in Lyon, France. Her cousin was the late French politician Lionel Stoléru. She is married to fellow actor Patrick Chesnais, and their daughter Ém ...

(b. 1949), actress * Laurent Terzieff (1935–2010), actor * Anamaria Vartolomei (b. 1999), actress

Literature

* Linda Baros (b. 1981), poet *

Marthe Bibesco Princess Martha Bibescu (Martha Lucia; ''née'' Lahovary; 28 January 1886 – 28 November 1973) also known outside of Romania as Marthe Bibesco, was a celebrated Romanian-French writer, socialite, style icon and political hostess. She spent her c ...

(1886–1973), poet * Emil Cioran (1911–1995), essayist * Petru Dumitriu (1924–2002), novelist *

Constantin Gheorghiu Constantin Gheorghiu (born 1 June 1933) is a Romanian boxer. He competed in the men's featherweight event at the 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII ...

(1916–1992), novelist * Paul Goma (1935–2020), novelist *

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

(1909–1994), playwright *

Salim Jay Salim Jay (born 30 June 1951) is a Franco- Moroccan novelist, essayist and literary critic living in France. He has written about 20 books, numerous essays and more than thousand newspaper articles. His "Dictionnaire des Écrivains marocains", pu ...

(b. 1951), novelist (Romanian mother) *

Anna de Noailles Anna, Comtesse Mathieu de Noailles (Anna Elisabeth Bibesco-Bassaraba de Brancovan) (15 November 1876 – 30 April 1933) was a French writer of Romanian and Greek descent, a poet and a socialist feminist. Biography Personal life Born Princess ...

(1876–1933), poet * Dumitru Țepeneag (b. 1937), novelist * Tristan Tzara (1896–1963), poet, playwright and founder of the Dada movement *

Elena Văcărescu Elena Văcărescu, or Hélène Vacaresco (September 21, 1864 in Bucharest – February 17, 1947 in Paris), was a Romanian-French aristocrat writer, twice a laureate of the Académie française. Life Through her father, Ioan Văcărescu, she desc ...

(1864–1947), poet * Matei Vișniec (b. 1956), novelist

Music

* Sergiu Celibidache (1912–1996), conductor and composer * Marius Constant (1925–2004), composer and conductor * Vladimir Cosma (b. 1940), composer, conductor and violinist * Francis Dreyfus (1940–2010), record producer * George Enescu (1881–1955), composer, violinist, pianist, and conductor * Mareva Galanter (b. 1979), singer and former Miss France 1999 *

Costin Miereanu Costin Miereanu (born 27 February 1943) is a French composer and musicologist of Romanian birth. Biography Miereanu was born in Bucharest and studied at the Music Academy there from 1960 to 1966 with Alfred Mendelsohn, Tiberiu Ola, Ștefan N ...

(b. 1943), composer * Horațiu Rădulescu (1942–2008), composer *

Lydie Solomon Lydie Solomon (Lydie Waï Solomon) (born 1982), is a French pianist and actress, born to a Franco- Romanian father and a Korean mother. She speaks fluent French, Korean, English, and Spanish and has a working knowledge of German and Italian. An ...

(b. 1982), pianist * Pierre Vassiliu (1937–2014), singer and songwriter

Politics

Lionnel Luca Lionnel Luca (born 19 December 1954 in Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, lo ...

(b. 1954), member of the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...

Roxana Mărăcineanu Roxana Maracineanu (; born 7 May 1975) is a Romanian-born French politician, former swimming champion and television consultant who served as Minister Delegate in charge of Sports in the government of Prime Minister Jean Castex (2020–2022) and ...

(b. 1975), current Minister of Youth and Sports of France * Lionel Stoléru (1937–2016), politician *

Nicolae Titulescu Nicolae Titulescu (; 4 March 1882 – 17 March 1941) was a Romanian diplomat, at various times government minister, finance and foreign minister, and for two terms president of the General Assembly of the League of Nations (1930–32). Early y ...

(1882–1941), politician

Sports

Anne-Marie Bănuță Anne-Marie Bănuță (born 16 November 1991) is a footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Seconde Ligue club FC Metz (women), Metz. Born in France, she represents Romania women's national football team, Romania at ...

(b. 1991), footballer *

Ania Monica Caill Ania Monica Caill (born 24 October 1995) is a French-born alpine skier who competes internationally for Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and So ...

(b. 1995), alpine skier * Alexandra Dascalu (b. 1991), volleyball player * Ana Filip, (b. 1989), basketball player * (b. 1985), rugby union player (Romanian mother) * Viorel Moldovan (b. 1972), footballer and manager *

Victoria Muntean Victoria Muntean (born 23 January 1997) is a French professional tennis player. Muntean has a career-high WTA singles ranking of 435, attained on 27 June 2016, and a career-high WTA doubles ranking of 408, reached on 24 July 2017. She has won ...

(b. 1997), tennis player * Rodica Nagel (b. 1970), long-distance runner *

Cédric Pioline Cédric Pioline (born 15 June 1969) is a French former professional tennis player who played on the professional tour from 1989 to 2002. He reached the men's singles final at the 1993 US Open and at Wimbledon in 1997. On both occasions, he was ...

(b. 1969), tennis player (Romanian mother) *

Rudi Prisăcaru Rudi Prisăcaru (born 3 January 1970) is a Romanian handball coach and former player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics ...

(b. 1970), handballer * Jean-Charles Skarbowsky (b. 1975), kickboxer (Romanian mother) * (b. 1993), rugby union player * Cynthia Vescan (b. 1992), freestyle wrestler * Victor Zvunka (b. 1951), footballer and manager

Other

* Antoine Bibesco (1878–1951), diplomat * Henri Coandă (1886–1972), inventor and aerodynamics pioneer *

Paul Cornu Paul Cornu (; June 15, 1881 – 6 June 1944) was a French engineer. Life Paul Cornu, of Romanian origins, was born in Glos la Ferrière, France and was one of thirteen children. At a young age, he helped his father in his transports company. H ...

(1881-1944), engineer designing the world's first successful manned rotary wing aircraft * Mattei Dogan (1920–2010), sociologist * Cyprien Iov (b. 1989), comedian and YouTube personality *

Constantin Levaditi Constantin Levaditi (1 August 1874 – 5 September 1953) was a Romanian physician and microbiologist, a major figure in virology and immunology, especially in the study of poliomyelitis and syphilis. Biography He was born in Galați. His fathe ...

(1874–1953), microbiologist * Eli Lotar (1905–1969), photographer and cinematographer * Henri Negresco (1870–1920), founder of the Hotel Negresco in Nice * Gabriel Badea-Päun (b. 1973), art historian * Valentin Poénaru (b. 1932), mathematician * Alexandru Proca (1897–1955), physicist * Élisabeth Roudinesco (b. 1944), historian and psychoanalyst *

Sonia Rykiel Sonia Rykiel (; ; 25 May 1930 – 25 August 2016) was a French fashion designer and writer. She created the Poor Boy Sweater, which was featured on the cover of French ''Elle'' magazine. Her knitwear designs and new fashion techniques led her t ...

(1930–2016), fashion designer

External links

Communauté Roumaine en France/Romanian Community in France

References

{{Romanian diaspora European diaspora in France France France Immigration to France by country of origin