View source for French migration to the United Kingdom

{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = French people in the United Kingdom
| image            = File:Counties of the UK French.svg
| image_caption    = Distribution by regional area at the 2011 census
| population       = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''French-born residents in the United Kingdom: 165,871 – 0.2% <br/>([[2021 United Kingdom census|2021/22 Census]]){{#tag:ref| Does not include French born in the United Kingdom or those with French ancestry|group="note"}}'''<br/>{{Flag|England}}: 152,697 – 0.3% (2021)<ref name="E&W_CoB22">{{cite web |title=TS012: Country of birth (detailed) |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS012/editions/2021/versions/2/filter-outputs/ba18881b-a88f-432f-89be-af1fee321107#get-data |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref><br/>{{Flag|Scotland}}: 9,348 – 0.2% (2022)<ref name="CountryBirth_22">{{cite web |title=Table UV204 - Country of birth: Country by Country of Birth by Individuals |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/search-the-census#/location/topics/list?topic=Ethnicity,%20Identity,%20Language%20and%20Religion&categoryId=4 |publisher=National Records of Scotland|access-date=24 May 2024}} '2022' > 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Country of birth: UV204'</ref><br/>{{Flag|Wales}}: 2,625 – 0.08% (2021)<ref name="E&W_CoB22"/><br/>[[Northern Ireland]]: 1,201 – 0.06% (2021)<ref name="CoB_NI21">{{cite web|url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-ms-a17.xlsx|title=MS-A17: Country of birth - intermediate detail|publisher=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency|date=22 September 2022|accessdate=25 May 2023}}</ref><br/>'''French citizens/passports held:'''<br/> 163,517 (England and Wales only, 2021)<ref>{{cite web |title=TS005: Passports held |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS005/editions/2021/versions/3/filter-outputs/2f83f974-bd79-4947-bcc4-817d8bfe2bfb#get-data |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref><br/>'''Other estimates:'''<br />189,000 (2020 ONS estimate)<br>
| popplace         = [[London]], [[South East England]]
| langs            = [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]]
| rels             = Mainly [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] and [[Protestantism]];<br> [[Judaism]], [[Irreligious]] and other minority faiths
| related          = [[French people]] {{reflist|group=note}}
}}
{{French people}}
{{Lists of British people}}
'''French migration to the United Kingdom''' is a phenomenon that has occurred at various points in history. The [[Norman Conquest of England]] by [[William the Conqueror]] in 1066 resulted in the arrival of [[Normans]], while in the 16th and 17th centuries Protestant [[Huguenots]] fled religious persecution to [[East London]]. Other waves (but less likely to have put down permanent roots) are associated with monasticism, particularly post-conquest Benedictines and Cistercians, aristocracy fleeing the French Revolution, expulsion of religious orders by Third Republic France, and current expats.
The [[2011 UK Census]] recorded 137,862 French-born people living in the UK. Almost half of these were resident in the capital, [[London]]. Many more British people have French ancestry.
[[French language|French]] remains the [[foreign language]] most learned by Britons. It has traditionally been spoken as a [[second language]] by the country's educated classes and its popularity is reinforced by the close geographical proximity between Great Britain and France.
==History==
{{refimprove|section|date=February 2009}}
[[File:Nuns Graves in Kirkthorpe Churchyard - geograph.org.uk - 365580.jpg|thumb|left|Graves of exiled French [[Benedictines|Benedictine]] nuns, [[Kirkthorpe]]]]
Much of the UK's medieval [[aristocracy]] was descended from Franco-[[Normans|Norman]] migrants to England from the time of the [[Norman Conquest of England|Norman Conquest]]. Prominent families of the period, include the [[Grosvenor family]] originally, "Gros Veneur" (in [[Norman language|Norman]]) "great hunter": their influence can be found throughout central London with many roads, squares and buildings bearing their family names, such as [[Grosvenor Square]] and [[Grosvenor House]]. Ancestors of the [[Molyneux]] family, the [[Earl of Sefton|Earls of Sefton]] who arrived in England around the time of the Norman Conquest, bore the name "de Molines": they came from [[Moulineaux|Molineaux-sur-Seine]], near [[Rouen]], in [[Normandy]] where they resided in the [[Château de Robert-le-Diable]] also known as Château de Moulineaux. Other well known names are the Beauchamps (Beecham), Courtois and Le Mesurier. Some British people are descended from the [[Huguenots#Ireland|Huguenots]], French [[Protestant]]s who in the 16th and 17th centuries fled religious persecution in [[France]]. Although a substantial French Protestant community existed in London from the sixteenth century, the suppression of Protestantism in France in the 1680s led to a mass migration of predominantly [[Calvinist]] refugees, most of whom settled in London, partly in [[Spitalfields]] in the east and Soho in the west. The French Protestant community was one of the largest and most distinctive communities in the capital in the 18th-century. Later, during and after the [[French Revolution]], there was also an influx of French Catholics.
==Population and distribution==
[[File:French in London.svg|thumb|A map showing the distribution of French-born people in London.{{legend|#f7fbff|0.0%-0.49%}}
{{legend|#d1e2f2|0.5%-0.99%}}
{{legend|#9ac7e0|1%-1.49%}}
{{legend|#519ccc|1.5%-2.49%}}
{{legend|#1c6bb0|2.5%-3.99%}}
{{legend|#08306b|4% and greater}}]]
The [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 UK Census]] recorded 127,601 French-born residents in England, 2,203 in Wales,<ref name=2011EngWal>{{cite web|title=2011 Census: QS203EW Country of birth (detailed), local authorities in England and Wales|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-qs203ew.xls|publisher=Office for National Statistics|date=11 December 2012|access-date=15 August 2015}}</ref> 7,147 in [[Scotland]],<ref name=2011Scot>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/rel2a_COB_detailed_Scotland.pdf|title=Country of birth (detailed)|publisher=National Records of Scotland|access-date=15 August 2015}}</ref> and 911 in [[Northern Ireland]],<ref name=2011NI>{{cite web|url=http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/Download/Census%202011_Excel/2011/QS206NI.xls |title=Country of Birth – Full Detail: QS206NI |publisher=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency |access-date=15 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095516/http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/Download/Census%202011_Excel/2011/QS206NI.xls |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> making a UK total of 137,862. The previous, [[2001 UK Census]], had recorded 96,281 French-born residents.<ref name="Census2001">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls|title=Country-of-birth database|publisher=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|access-date=15 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504031258/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls|archive-date=4 May 2011}}</ref> The [[Office for National Statistics]] estimates that 189,000 French-born immigrants were resident in the UK in 2020.<ref name="ONS2020">{{ONSCoB2020|accessdate=7 December 2022}}</ref>
The [[2021 UK census|2021 census]] recorded 163,517 French passport holders resident in England and Wales.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/internationalmigrationenglandandwales/census2021|title=International migration, England and Wales: Census 2021|publisher=Office for National Statistics|first=Michael|last=Roskams|date=2 November 2022|accessdate=7 December 2022}}</ref> The number of residents of England and Wales born in France was recorded as 155,322.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ons-dp-prod-census-publication.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/TS012_country_of_birth_60a/UR-nat%2Bcountry_of_birth_60a.xlsx|title=TS012 Country of birth (detailed)|publisher=Office for National Statistics|date=2 November 2022|accessdate=7 December 2022}}</ref>
Of the French-born people recorded by the 2011 census, 66,654 (48.4 per cent) lived in [[Greater London]] and 22,584 (16.4 per cent) in [[South East England]]. Within London, particular concentrations were recorded in the boroughs of [[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea|Kensington and Chelsea]], [[City of Westminster|Westminster]] and [[London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham|Hammersmith and Fulham]].<ref name=2011EngWal/> There are several French schools in London, some independent, and others, La Petite École Française in west [[London]] and the [[Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle]], situated in [[South Kensington]] are run by the French state. The French Consulate in London has estimated that 270,000 French people live in the city, but the ONS contests this, pointing out that the number of French passport holders recorded by the 2011 census was only 86,000. The French Embassy's estimate includes London plus "the south eastern quadrant of the UK including [[Kent]], [[Oxfordshire]] and maybe [[Sussex]] too".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26823489|title=Is London really France's 'sixth biggest city'?|first=Wesley|last=Stephenson|publisher=BBC News|date=1 April 2014|access-date=15 August 2015}}</ref>
Many British people have [[French people|French]] ancestry. According to a 2010 study by [[Ancestry.com|Ancestry.co.uk]], three million British people are of French descent.<ref name=Telegraph>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7578817/Britons-can-trace-French-ancestry-after-millions-of-records-go-online.html |title=Britons can trace French ancestry after millions of records go online|quote=The documents disclose that despite our rivalry with our continental counterparts, 3 million Britons - one in 20 – can trace their ancestry back to France.| location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Murray |last=Wardrop |date=12 April 2010|access-date=15 August 2015}}</ref>
==Education==
French international schools in the United Kingdom:
* [[Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle]]
* [[Lycée International de Londres Winston Churchill]] - London
* [[École française de Bristol]]
* [[École d'entreprise Total (Aberdeen)]]
==Notable people==
Famous British people who can trace their ancestry back to France include [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]], [[Michel Roux Jr]], [[Joanne Harris]], [[Dustin Demri-Burns]], [[Davina McCall]], [[John Hegley]], [[Simon Le Bon]], [[Noel Fielding]] and [[Emma Watson]].<ref name=Telegraph/> Top French chief executives attracted to Britain have been: [[Xavier Rolet]] (LSE) and [[Vincent de Rivaz]] ([[EDF Energy]]). In the kitchen chefs working in the UK include [[Raymond Blanc]], who has spent most of his working life in Britain and presents cookery programmes on British television.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/top-french-chef-raymond-blanc-admits-british-are-best-at-food-8276762.html|title=Top (French) chef Raymond Blanc admits British are best at food|first=Maxine|last=Frith|work=Evening Standard|date=2 November 2012|access-date=15 August 2015}}</ref> Brothers [[Albert Roux|Albert]] and [[Michel Roux]], were the first chefs in Britain to be awarded three [[Michelin Guide|Michelin stars]] in 1982 for their restaurant, [[Le Gavroche]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jan/01/michel-roux-family-dynasties-ian-sansom|title=Great dynasties of the world: The Roux family|first=Ian|last=Sansom|work=The Guardian|date=1 January 2011|access-date=16 August 2015}}</ref> At the start of the 2011–12 season, aside from home-grown and Irish talent, there were more French-born footballers in the [[Premier League]] than any other nationality.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/8689699/Premier-League-which-countries-are-the-players-from.html|title=Premier League: which countries are the players from?|work=Daily Telegraph|first=Donna|last=Bowater|date=12 August 2011|access-date=15 August 2015}}</ref> Frenchman [[Arsène Wenger]] was the Premier League's longest serving manager, since assuming the role at Arsenal F.C. in October 1996 before retiring in May 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/clubs/managers/profile.overview.html/arsene-wenger |title=Manager profile — Arsène Wenger |publisher=Premier League |access-date=16 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822212433/http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/clubs/managers/profile.overview.html/arsene-wenger |archive-date=22 August 2015 }}</ref>
== See also ==
{{Portal|France|United Kingdom}}
* [[France-United Kingdom relations]]
* [[British migration to France]]
* [[French diaspora]]
* [[French American]]
* [[French Canadian]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.institut-francais.org.uk/ French Institute London]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060807020918/http://www.egliseprotestantelondres.org/english/index.php French Protestant Church of London]
*[http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/Onlineresources/RWWC/themes/1295/1278 Reassessing what we collect website – French London] History of French London with objects and images
{{EuropeansinUK}}
{{French diaspora}}
[[Category:British people of French descent|*]]
[[Category:French diaspora by country|United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Huguenot history in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:French diaspora in Europe|United Kingdom]]
[[Category:France–United Kingdom relations]]
[[Category:European diaspora in the United Kingdom]]