60 French activists

The Islamic scarf controversy in France, referred to there as l'affaire du voile, l'affaire du voile islamique, and l'affaire du foulard, arose in 1989, pertaining to the wearing of the hijab in French public schools. It involved issues of the place of Muslim women, differences between Islamic doctrine and Islamic tradition, the conflict between communitarianism and the French policy of minority assimilation, discussions of the "Islamist threat" to French society and of Islamophobia.

Fadela Amara is a French feminist and politician, who began her political life as an advocate for women in the impoverished banlieues. She was the Secretary of State for Urban Policies in the conservative Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) government of French Prime Minister François Fillon. She is a former president of the organisation Ni Putes Ni Soumises.

Danièle Minne was one of the few European women convicted of assisting the FLN during the Algerian War. Her mother Jacqueline Netter-Minne-Guerroudj and her stepfather Abdelkader Guerroudj, were both condemned to death as accomplices of Fernand Iveton, the only European who was guillotined for his part in the Algerian revolt. Her mother was never executed, partly due to a campaign on her behalf conducted by Simone de Beauvoir; her stepfather was also freed.

Serge Élie Ayoub is a French political activist associated with the far-right and formerly the hooligan movement.

Alain Badiou is a French philosopher, formerly chair of Philosophy at the École normale supérieure (ENS) and founder of the faculty of Philosophy of the Université de Paris VIII with Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault and Jean-François Lyotard. Badiou has written about the concepts of being, truth, event and the subject in a way that, he claims, is neither postmodern nor simply a repetition of modernity. Badiou has been involved in a number of political organisations, and regularly comments on political events. Badiou argues for a return of communism as a political force.

Frank Barat is a French activist, author and film producer. He was the coordinator of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine from 2008 until 2014. He is the co-founder of BARC Productions, a film production company, created in Brussels in February 2019. He has edited books with Noam Chomsky, Ilan Pappé, Ken Loach and Angela Davis. He was part of the founding team of the Festival Ciné-Palestine in Paris and the Palestine with Love festival in Brussels.

Armand Barbès was a French Republican revolutionary and a fierce and steadfast opponent of the July monarchy (1830–1848). He is remembered as a man whose life centers on two days:12 May 1839, the day of the uprising in which the Republicans tried to overthrow the king, Louis Philippe. His ill-considered actions on this day led to a sentence of life imprisonment; he was, however, released by the revolution of 1848; and 15 May 1848, the day when demonstrators invaded the Assemblée Nationale, where Barbès had been serving, for only about three weeks, as a deputy. The demonstrators' ostensible aim was to urge the government to exercise whatever influence it could in support of the liberation of Poland. Things got out of hand, however, and Barbès got caught up in what was perceived to be a coup d'état through the imposition of a provisional government.

Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot, often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French animal rights activist and former actress and singer. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated personae with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the best known sex symbols of the late 1950s and 1960s. Although she withdrew from the entertainment industry in 1973, she remains a major popular culture icon.

Virginie Tellenne better known by her alias Frigide Barjot, is a French humorist, columnist and political activist. A former socialite of the Parisian nightlife, who organized events defending the Catholic faith in the 2000s, Barjot rose to prominence in the early 2010s in France as a vocal campaigner against same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption.

Julien Bayou is a French activist and politician, regional councilor of Île-de-France and national secretary of the Europe Écologie Les Verts party.

Samira Bellil was a French feminist activist and a campaigner for the rights of girls and women.

Mixel Berhokoirigoin was a Basque farmer and activist. He was the spokesperson for the self-styled group "Artisans of Peace" that promoted an act of disarmament of ETA in the Basque-French town of Baiona. He was part of a delegation of dialogue with the French Government.

Louis Auguste Blanqui was a French socialist and political activist, notable for his revolutionary theory of Blanquism.

Yves Bonnardel is a French philosopher, essayist and editor, libertarian, egalitarian and antispeciesist activist. He is one of the founding members of the French-language journal Cahiers antispécistes and of the events Veggie Pride, Les Estivales de la question animale and the march to close all slaughterhouses.

Brigitte Boucheron is a French feminist and anarchist Lesbian activist. She was a co-founder of the women only Bagdam Cafee in Toulouse which opened in 1988. The cafe closed in 1999 but the name lives on with annual events as a focus for lesbian culture.

Marie-Louise Charpentier, also known as Lily Charpentier (1905-1998), was a nurse, social worker, and active member of the French Resistance in Brittany during World War II. Her most well known accomplishment was hiding a Jewish woman and her two grandchildren from German forces and arranging their safe passage to relatives in the south of France. For this, in 1990, she was recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations" by the Yad Vashem Institute in Israel.

Simone Tanner Chaumet was a French peace activist and was a volunteer for SCI between 1943 and 1945 in France and between 1951 and 1956 in Algeria. She was honoured as Righteous Among the Nations by the State of Israel in 2011 for her actions to save Jewish children during the Second World War.

Étienne Chouard is a French high school teacher, blogger, and political activist. During the 2005 French referendum campaign on the European Constitution he gained public attention by advocating against it, notably for his discussion with Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Marion Cotillard is a French actress and musician. She is known for her wide range of roles across blockbusters and independent films. She has received numerous accolades, including; an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, two César Awards, a European Award, and a Lumières Award. She became a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France in 2010, and was promoted to Officer in 2016.

Gaston Crémieux, born Isaac Louis Gaston, was a lawyer, a journalist and a French writer. He distinguished himself by defending poor people, supporting Gambetta and Garibaldi. He led the League of the South (France) with Esquiros and Bastelica. He was friends with Adolphe Joseph Carcassonne. In 1871, he became head of the Marseille's Commune. This democratic uprising repressed in the blood by General Espivent, Gaston Cremieux was sentenced to death by a military court and died at thirty-five years, his mercy having been refused by Thiers and the commission with which he was surrounded. He was celebrated by Victor Hugo, Louise Michel, and Jean Jaurès.

Louise Cruppi, née Crémieux (1862–1925), was a French writer, musician and activist.

Daniel Defert is a French sociologist and HIV/AIDS activist. Partner to the late Michel Foucault, Defert co-founded France's first AIDS advocacy group, AIDES, following Foucault's death from complications related to the disease. Defert is the heir to Foucault's estate.

Catherine Fabienne Dorléac, known professionally as Catherine Deneuve, is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recognition for her portrayal of icy, aloof, and mysterious beauties for various directors, including Luis Buñuel, François Truffaut, and Roman Polanski. In 1985, she succeeded Mireille Mathieu as the official face of Marianne, France's national symbol of liberty. A 14-time César Award nominee, she won for her performances in Truffaut's The Last Metro (1980), for which she also won the David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress, and Régis Wargnier's Indochine (1992).

Anny Duperey is a French actress and best-selling author. She is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur.

Françoise Ega was an Afro-Martinican laborer, writer and social activist. She was most noted in her lifetime for her community leadership and advocacy for Caribbean migrants to France. Since her death, her written works, which explore themes of alienation, exploitation, and nationalism, have been recognized as an important voice for French Antillean women in the period between the end of the Second World War and the end to colonization.

Solange Fernex was a French environmental and pacifist activist and politician. One of the environmental movement's pioneers in Europe, she helped found the French Green Party and was a member of the European Parliament for five years.

Paul François is a French agricultor and author, who has been decorated with the Legion of Honour. He is notable chiefly because he demonstrated to a court of law that he was poisoned by a Monsanto product.

Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz was a member of the French Resistance and served as president of ATD Quart Monde. Her uncle was General Charles de Gaulle.

Katell Gélébart is a French ecodesigner, artist, activist, educator and entrepreneur. She is best known for her fashion designs made from re-purposing unwanted materials.

Catherine Gonnard is a French art historian, journalist, writer, and activist, specializing in women's history and female homosexuality. Throughout her life, she has participated in numerous colloquia and conferences in France and abroad related to the acceptance and pride of homosexuality.

Brigitte Gothière is a French animal rights activist, spokesperson and director of the animal rights organization L214, which she co-founded with her husband Sébastien Arsac. She was also the editor of the journal Cahiers antispécistes from 1998 to 2019.

Lily Emilie Grosser was a medal winner for her activism in Germany during World War I and fled to France during World War II where she was granted citizenship. After World War II in France, she became secretary of the French Committee for Exchange with the New Germany and was instrumental in building political and cultural Franco-German relations.

Pierre Guillaume is a French political activist and publisher. He was the founder of the Paris book shop La Vieille Taupe in 1965 and later the Holocaust denying publishing house of the same name. A former member of Socialisme ou Barbarie, he moved to Pouvoir Ouvrier with Jean-François Lyotard and Pierre Souyri.

Joseph-Auguste Guinard (1799–1874) was a French politician. He was elected as a deputy to the Constituent Assembly in 1848 through 1849. In the Constituent Assembly, Guinard caucused with the Mountain party. On January 15, 1849, he took part in uprisings by the Mountain party.

Gisèle Halimi was a Tunisian-French lawyer, feminist, and essayist.

Marie Huot was a French poet, writer, feminist, animal rights and vegetarianism activist.

Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie was a French physicist and husband of Irène Joliot-Curie, with whom he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. Joliot-Curie and his wife also founded the Orsay Faculty of Sciences, part of the Paris-Saclay University.

Bruno Julliard is a former student leader and politician of the Socialist Party (PS) who served as chairman of the UNEF, the main student union in France. More recently, he was the First Deputy Mayor of Paris between 2014 and 2018.

Pierre Kaan was a professor of philosophy, Marxist essayist, and prominent member of the French Resistance during the Second World War.

Patrick Karam is a French personality defending human rights. He is a researcher in international relations. Former Interministerial Delegate for Equal Opportunities for French Overseas under, Nicolas Sarkozy, he is regional advisor of Île-de-France (UMP) since 2010 and Inspector General of Youth and Sports since 2011. He is the president of the Coordination of the Christians of East in Danger (CHREDO) established in September 2013. Patrick is the first president of the Representative Council of the French Overseas. Since December 2015 he has been vice-president of the regional council of Ile de France, responsible for youth, sports and community life.

Aminata Koné is a French lawyer and activist for affordable family housing. She has been the vice-president of the Abbé Pierre Foundation for Affordable Housing (fr), the general secretary of the family advocacy union Confédération syndicale des familles (fr), and a member of the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council. She is a Chevalier (Knight) of the Legion of Honour, and an Officier (Officer) of the Ordre national du Mérite.

Jeanne Marie Labourbe was a French Bolshevik and activist who participated in the October Revolution. She died in 1919 in Odessa, executed by the police as ordered by the White Russians.

Paul Langevin was a French physicist who developed Langevin dynamics and the Langevin equation. He was one of the founders of the Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes, an anti-fascist organization created after the 6 February 1934 far right riots. Being a public opponent of fascism in the 1930s resulted in his arrest and being held under house arrest by the Vichy government for most of World War II. Langevin was also president of the Human Rights League (LDH) from 1944 to 1946, having recently joined the French Communist Party.

Nathalie Lemel, was a militant anarchist and feminist who participated on the barricades at the Commune de Paris of 1871. She was deported to Nouvelle Calédonie with Louise Michel.

Corinne Dominique Marguerite Lepage is a French politician. She served as French Minister of the Environment in the Alain Juppé cabinets 1 and II 1995–1997 and as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) 2009–2014 for the North-West constituency.

Didier Lestrade, is a French author, magazine publisher, AIDS and LGBT rights advocate.

Pauline Londeix is a French activist researcher and writer, who has been particularly involved in the fight for the access to generic medicines used against HIV and Hepatitis C virus (HCV), in particular through contributing to challenging monopolies and intellectual property barriers in the Global South, but also in high income countries, such as France. In 2008, she was the Vice President of the French HIV/AIDS organisation Act Up-Paris. In 2011, she co-founded Act Up-Basel.

Jenny Caroline "Jennychen" Marx Longuet was the eldest daughter of Jenny von Westphalen Marx and Karl Marx. Briefly a political journalist writing under the pen name "J. Williams", Longuet taught language classes and had a family of five sons and a daughter before her own death due to cancer at the age of 38.

Michael Löwy is a French-Brazilian Marxist sociologist and philosopher. He is emeritus research director in social sciences at the CNRS and lectures at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales. Author of books on Karl Marx, Che Guevara, Liberation Theology, György Lukács, Walter Benjamin, Lucien Goldmann and Franz Kafka, he received the CNRS Silver Medal in 1994.

Suzanne Masson was a union activist and communist, who was executed for her work in the French Resistance during World War II.

Robert Ménard is a French politician and former journalist serving as Mayor of Béziers since 2014. A founder of the Paris-based international non-governmental organisation Reporters Without Borders, he was its general-secretary from 1985 to 2008. He subsequently participated in the launch of the information website Boulevard Voltaire in 2012. An Independent since 1981, Ménard joined the Les Amoureux de la France alliance in 2017.

Danielle Émilienne Isabelle Mitterrand was the wife of French President François Mitterrand, and president of the foundation France Libertés Fondation Danielle Mitterrand.

Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan, known as Renaud, born 11 May 1952, is a popular French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style. Several of his songs are popular classics in France, including the sea tale "Dès que le vent soufflera", the irreverent "Laisse béton", the ballad "Morgane de toi" and the nostalgic "Mistral gagnant". However, with the exception of a recording of "Miss Maggie" in English and a franglais recording of "It is not because you are", his work is little known outside the French-speaking world.

Jeanne Elizabeth Schmahl was a French feminist, born in Britain. She married a well-off husband who supported her while she worked as a midwife's assistant in Paris. She decided to avoid politics and religion and to focus on specific and practical feminist goals. She led a successful campaign to change the laws so women could legally bear witness and could control their own earnings. She launched the French Union for Women's Suffrage to campaign for the right of women to vote, but that was not achieved in her lifetime.

Boris Souvarine, also known as Varine, was a French Marxist, communist activist, essayist and journalist.

Sylvie Tissot is a French sociologist, activist and documentary filmmaker. She is a Professor of Political Science at University of Paris-8 and a founder of the collective Les Mots Sont Importants.

Salwa Toko is a diversity and digital literacy activist. She is President of the Conseil National du Numérique (CNNum).

Joseph Wresinski was a French priest and humanitarian activist.

Sophia Zaikowska was a French writer, individualist anarchist of Polish descent, nutritionist and early promoter of veganism.

Jérémie Zimmermann is a French computer science engineer co-founder of the Paris-based La Quadrature du Net, a citizen advocacy group defending fundamental freedoms online and co-founder of Hacking With Care, a "collective composed of hackers-activists, caregivers, artists, sociologist, growing quite literally by contact and affinity".