Global Leaderboard
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Most Famous French Writers
Writing 1,719
France 13,591
47 VH 
Victor Hugo French Poet 1802–1885
Victor Hugo French Poet 1802–1885 51 V 
Voltaire French Writer 1694–1778
Voltaire French Writer 1694–1778 55 JR 
Jean-Jacques Rousseau French Writer 1712–1778
Jean-Jacques Rousseau French Writer 1712–1778 67 RD 
René Descartes French Philosopher 1596–1650
René Descartes French Philosopher 1596–1650 120 JV 
Jules Verne French Novelist 1828–1905
Jules Verne French Novelist 1828–1905 129 AC 
Albert Camus French Writer 1913–1960
Albert Camus French Writer 1913–1960 233 MF 
Michel Foucault French Philosopher 1926–1984
Michel Foucault French Philosopher 1926–1984 234 HD 
Honoré de Balzac French Novelist 1799–1850
Honoré de Balzac French Novelist 1799–1850 254 ÉZ 
Émile Zola French Novelist 1840–1902
Émile Zola French Novelist 1840–1902 340 AR 
Arthur Rimbaud French Poet 1854–1891
Arthur Rimbaud French Poet 1854–1891 363 AD 
Alexandre Dumas French Novelist 1802–1870
Alexandre Dumas French Novelist 1802–1870 376 AD 
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry French Writer 1900–1944
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry French Writer 1900–1944 382 SD 
Simone de Beauvoir French Writer 1908–1986
Simone de Beauvoir French Writer 1908–1986 411 M 
Montesquieu French Philosopher 1689–1755
Montesquieu French Philosopher 1689–1755 456 DD 
Denis Diderot French Novelist 1713–1784
Denis Diderot French Novelist 1713–1784 621 AC 
Auguste Comte French Philosopher 1798–1857
Auguste Comte French Philosopher 1798–1857 627 GD 
Guy de Maupassant French Writer 1850–1893
Guy de Maupassant French Writer 1850–1893 734 S 
Stendhal French Writer 1783–1842
Stendhal French Writer 1783–1842 788 MD 
Michel de Montaigne French Literary 1533–1592
Michel de Montaigne French Literary 1533–1592 806 JD 
Jacques Derrida French Philosopher 1930–2004
Jacques Derrida French Philosopher 1930–2004 837 PB 
Pierre Bourdieu French Philosopher 1930–2002
Pierre Bourdieu French Philosopher 1930–2002 952 CL 
Claude Lévi-Strauss French Philosopher 1908–2009
Claude Lévi-Strauss French Philosopher 1908–2009 1,232 JR 
Jean Racine French Playwright 1639–1699
Jean Racine French Playwright 1639–1699 1,239 PV 
Paul Verlaine French Poet 1844–1896
Paul Verlaine French Poet 1844–1896 1,257 FR 
François Rabelais French Writer 1494–1553
François Rabelais French Writer 1494–1553 1,290 JD 
Jean de La Fontaine French Poet 1621–1695
Jean de La Fontaine French Poet 1621–1695 1,399 MH Michel Houellebecq French Poet b. 1956
1,445 RB 
Roland Barthes French Philosopher 1915–1980
Roland Barthes French Philosopher 1915–1980 1,500 AB 
André Breton French Poet 1896–1966
André Breton French Poet 1896–1966 1,591 FD François-René de Chateaubriand French Writer 1768–1848
1,597 PD 
Pierre de Coubertin French Historian 1863–1937
Pierre de Coubertin French Historian 1863–1937 1,855 MD 
Marguerite Duras French Writer 1914–1996
Marguerite Duras French Writer 1914–1996 1,888 C 
Colette French Novelist 1873–1954
Colette French Novelist 1873–1954 2,053 LA 
Louis Althusser French Philosopher 1918–1990
Louis Althusser French Philosopher 1918–1990 2,067 LS 
Léopold Sédar Senghor French Poet 1906–2001
Léopold Sédar Senghor French Poet 1906–2001 2,098 JB 
Jean Baudrillard French Philosopher 1929–2007
Jean Baudrillard French Philosopher 1929–2007 2,229 GB 
Georges Brassens French Poet 1921–1981
Georges Brassens French Poet 1921–1981 2,284 RR 
Romain Rolland French Writer 1866–1944
Romain Rolland French Writer 1866–1944 2,358 LA Louis Aragon French Writer 1897–1982
2,479 AD Alphonse de Lamartine French Writer 1790–1869
2,548 TG 
Théophile Gautier French Writer 1811–1872
Théophile Gautier French Writer 1811–1872 2,854 TC 
Thomas Carlyle French Literary 1795–1881
Thomas Carlyle French Literary 1795–1881 2,911 GP Georges Perec French Writer 1936–1982
2,948 JB 
Jean Bodin French Philosopher 1530–1596
Jean Bodin French Philosopher 1530–1596 2,997 MD 
Marquis de Condorcet French Philosopher 1743–1794
Marquis de Condorcet French Philosopher 1743–1794 3,112 BL 
Bernard-Henri Lévy French Writer b. 1948
Bernard-Henri Lévy French Writer b. 1948 3,160 MM 
Maurice Merleau-Ponty French Philosopher 1908–1961
Maurice Merleau-Ponty French Philosopher 1908–1961 3,200 FS 
Françoise Sagan French Writer 1935–2004
Françoise Sagan French Writer 1935–2004 3,272 PR 
Paul Ricœur French Philosopher 1913–2005
Paul Ricœur French Philosopher 1913–2005 3,274 PÉ 
Paul Éluard French Writer 1895–1952
Paul Éluard French Writer 1895–1952
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