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Most Famous French Athletes

Sports 1,511
France 13,591
257 ZZ Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Zidane French Football b. 1972
832 TH Thierry Henry Thierry Henry French Football b. 1977
1,670 MP Michel Platini Michel Platini French Football b. 1955
2,191 PP Paul Pogba Paul Pogba French Football b. 1993
2,245 FR Franck Ribéry Franck Ribéry French Football b. 1983
2,293 PV Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira French Football b. 1976
3,171 LT Lilian Thuram Lilian Thuram French Football b. 1972
3,277 TP Tony Parker Tony Parker French Basket b. 1982
3,562 YN Yannick Noah Yannick Noah French Player b. 1960
3,951 LB Laurent Blanc Laurent Blanc French Football b. 1965
4,168 AP Alain Prost Alain Prost French Driver b. 1955
4,227 BL Bixente Lizarazu Bixente Lizarazu French Football b. 1969
4,914 MD Marcel Desailly French Football b. 1968
5,676 NA Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Anelka French Football b. 1979
5,884 BM Blaise Matuidi Blaise Matuidi French Football b. 1987
6,277 DC Djibril Cissé French Football b. 1981
6,473 MV Mathieu Valbuena Mathieu Valbuena French Football b. 1984
6,550 BH Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault French Sport b. 1954
6,885 CK Christian Karembeu Christian Karembeu French Football b. 1970
6,949 SU Samuel Umtiti Samuel Umtiti French Football b. 1993
7,467 JA Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil French Sport 1934–1987
7,924 LM Laure Manaudou Laure Manaudou French Swimmer b. 1986
8,042 FB Fabien Barthez Fabien Barthez French Football b. 1971
9,122 MC Marcel Cerdan French Boxer 1916–1949
9,349 AT André the Giant André the Giant French Wrestler 1946–1993
9,587 MF Martin Fourcade Martin Fourcade French Athlete b. 1988
9,839 LD Lucas Digne Lucas Digne French Football b. 1993
10,196 TR Teddy Riner Teddy Riner French Judo b. 1989
10,506 AM Anthony Martial Anthony Martial French Football b. 1995
10,835 HB Hatem Ben Arfa Hatem Ben Arfa French Football b. 1987
11,040 ÉA Éric Abidal Éric Abidal French Football b. 1979
11,073 LJ Laurent Jalabert Laurent Jalabert French Sport b. 1968
11,145 CD Christophe Dugarry Christophe Dugarry French Football b. 1972
11,195 CM Claude Makélélé Claude Makélélé French Football b. 1973
11,915 AD Abou Diaby Abou Diaby French Football b. 1986
12,449 SG Sidney Govou French Football b. 1979
12,515 KG Kevin Gameiro Kevin Gameiro French Football b. 1987
12,607 BG Bafétimbi Gomis Bafétimbi Gomis French Football b. 1985
13,129 JM Jérémy Ménez Jérémy Ménez French Football b. 1987
13,230 FD François-André Danican Philidor François-André Danican Philidor French Chess 1726–1795
13,246 MS Moussa Sissoko Moussa Sissoko French Football b. 1989
13,551 RK Raymond Kopa Raymond Kopa French Football 1931–2017
13,695 LR Loïc Rémy Loïc Rémy French Football b. 1987
13,830 AJ Aimé Jacquet Aimé Jacquet French Football b. 1941
14,531 JR Jules Rimet Jules Rimet French Football 1873–1956
15,033 JB Jean Borotra Jean Borotra French Player 1898–1994
15,498 IB Ishak Belfodil Ishak Belfodil French Football b. 1992
15,914 MS Morgan Schneiderlin Morgan Schneiderlin French Football b. 1989
16,120 MP Marie-José Pérec Marie-José Pérec French Sprint b. 1968
16,483 MD Mathieu Debuchy Mathieu Debuchy French Football b. 1985
See all 152,953 rankings →

Ranked by cross-verified academic notability — how it works

By the numbers

Inside France Athletes

1,511 notable people in this slice of the dataset.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous france athletes born in each.

Notable Births by Decade

Notable births among France Athletes peaked in the 1930s with 198 people.

What France Athletes Are Known For

Click any row to drill into that filter.

Football are France Athletes's biggest group — 34% of all notables (516).

France Athletes over-index on sport — 15.1× the global rate.

  1. Football516
  2. Sport384
  3. Player162
  4. Athletic78
  5. Driver63
  6. Skier36
  7. Basket29
  8. Athlete23
  1. Sport38415.1×
  2. Driver6314.9×
  3. Fencer1814.3×
  4. Player16211.5×
  5. Athlete236.5×
  6. Skier366.1×
  7. Athletic785.5×
  8. Football5163.7×

City Hot Spots

Cities that over-produce France Athletes compared to the world average — multiplier shows how much more.