https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=French_people_in_IndiaFrench people in India - Revision history2026-08-01T01:55:26ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=French_people_in_India&diff=474126&oldid=prevLoganConger6625 at 19:00, 21 February 20262026-02-21T19:00:30Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2020}}<br />
{{unreliable sources|date=June 2015}}<!--www.everyculture.com and www.boloji.com/ are inadequate sources--><br />
{{Infobox ethnic group<br />
| flag = {{flagicon|France}} {{flagicon|India}}<br />
| group = French people in India<br>''Indiens d’origine française''<br />
| image = <br />
| caption = <br />
| population = 12,864 (1988)<ref name="French of India">[http://www.everyculture.com/South-Asia/French-of-India.html: Countries and Their Cultures – French of India]</ref><br />
| regions = {{flatlist|<br />
* [[Puducherry (union territory)|Pondicherry]]<br />
* [[Chennai]]<br />
* [[Mumbai]]<br />
* [[New Delhi]]<br />
* [[Mahé, India|Mahé]]<br />
* [[Chandernagore]]<br />
* [[Hyderabad]]<br />
}}<br />
| langs = {{flatlist|<br />
* [[French language|French]]<br />
* [[#Indian French|Indian French]]<br />
* [[English language|English]]<br />
* [[Tamil language|Tamil]]<br />
* Other [[Languages of India|Indian languages]]<br />
}}<br />
| rels = {{flatlist|<br />
Majority [[Christianity]]<br/><br />
Minority [[Hinduism]]<br />
}}<br />
| related = [[French people]]<br />
}}<br />
{{French people}}<br />
The '''French community in India''' consists mainly of [[India]]n citizens of [[French people|French]] ancestry who are descended from former French settlers and colonists who settled in the [[Indian subcontinent]] since the 17th century, as well as recent expatriates from [[France]].<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
{{Main article|French India}}<br />
The French in India are an artifact of the French presence there, which began in 1673 with the establishment of the [[Louis XIV's East India Company|French East India Company]] and continued until 1962 when the French territory was formally transferred to India. The French presence was always minor compared with the British presence, and the French in India were generally not a significant portion of the population.<br />
<br />
There were 9,950 French nationals residing in India in 2013.<ref>[http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/francais_inscrits_registre_31122013_cle025116.pdf Répartition par pays de la population française inscrite au registre au 31 décembre 2013], Ministère des affaires étrangères</ref> Nearly all are in the [[Puducherry district]] in southeastern India (11,726 individuals in 1988), with much smaller numbers in [[Karaikal district|Karaikal]] (695 individuals), [[Mahe district|Mahé]] (50), [[Yanam district|Yanam]] (46), and 342 elsewhere in India. They form a small minority, accounting for less than 3 percent of the present population of Puducherry.<br />
<br />
==Indian French==<br />
'''Indian French''' ({{langx|fr|Français Indien}}) is a [[dialect]] of [[French language|French]] spoken by [[India]]ns from the former colonies of [[French India]];<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Orsini |first1=Francesca |journal=Testo a Fronte: Per Una Letteratura Globalizzata |title=Decreed out of existence? Multilingual India and world literature |url=https://www.academia.edu/25858900 |access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref> namely [[Puducherry (city)|Pondicherry]] (''Pondichéry''), [[Mahé, Puducherry|Mahé]], [[Yanam]] (''Yanaon''), [[Karaikal]] (''Karikal'') in the [[union territory]] of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]] (''Poudouchéry'') and the [[Chandannagar]] (''Chandernagor'') subdivision in the [[Indian state|state]] of [[West Bengal]]. It has considerable influence from [[Indian English|English]] and the [[Languages of India|regional languages of India]], such as the [[Dravidian languages]] of [[Tamil language|Tamil]] (Pondicherry Tamil dialect), [[Telugu language|Telugu]] (Yanam Telugu dialect) and [[Malayalam]] (Mahé Malayalam dialect) and the [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]] of [[Bengali language|Bengali]] in Chandannagar.<br />
<br />
There are several varieties of Indian French, corresponding to the former French colonies, as follows:<br />
*Tamil people (nearly 60,000 in France, 10,000 people in Puducherry)<br />
*Telugu people (nearly 10,000 in France, 35,000 people in Yanam)<br />
*Malayali people (4,000–5,000 in France)<br />
<br />
===Examples of Indian French===<br />
Indian French spoken in former [[French India]] vaguely varies from Standard French, in pronunciation and accent, with a few unique words, such as:<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Indian French<br />
! [[Metropolitan French]]<br />
! Meaning in [[English language|English]]<br />
|-<br />
| {{lang|fr-IN|Mérci beauco}}<br />
| {{lang|fr-FR|Merci beaucoup}}<br />
| Thank you very much<br />
|-<br />
| {{lang|fr-IN|Mousé}}<br />
| {{lang|fr-FR|Monsieur}}<br />
| Mister/Sir<br />
|-<br />
| {{lang|fr-IN|Madam}}<br />
| {{lang|fr-FR|Madame}}<br />
| Madam/Ma'am<br />
|-<br />
| {{lang|fr-IN|Locaele}}<br />
| {{lang|fr-FR|Locale}}<br />
| Local<br />
|-<br />
|{{lang|fr-IN|Perme}}<br />
|{{lang|fr-FR|Fermer}}<br />
|Close<br />
|-<br />
|{{lang|fr-IN|Parlama}}<br />
|{{lang|fr-FR|Parlement}}<br />
|Parliament<br />
|-<br />
|{{lang|fr-IN|Baccaloria}}<br />
|{{lang|fr-FR|Baccalauréat}}<br />
|Baccalauréat (''French secondary school diploma'')<br />
|-<br />
|{{lang|fr-IN|Sulda}}<br />
|{{lang|fr-FR|Soldat}}<br />
|Colloquially: Indians with French citizenship<br/>Literally: Soldier<br />
|-<br />
|{{lang|fr-IN|Coseiyya}}<br />
|{{lang|fr-FR|Conseiller}}<br />
|Councilor<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Current status==<br />
[[File:Puducherry EFEO.jpg|thumb|left| Building of the [[École française d'Extrême-Orient]] in [[Pondicherry (city)|Pondicherry]]|221x221px]]<br />
Today, Pondicherry still has a community of French people living in the city. There are 6,500 French people registered in South India, and of these about 5,500 are in Pondicherry.<br />
<br />
French companies in India are present in various sectors such as energy, IT, environment, automobiles, traditional manufacturing industries like St Gobain, and engineering. They also have exporters of fish and other seafood, textiles, leather and luxury goods. [[L’Oréal]] has a presence in India, and [[Louis Vuitton]] has taken a stake in Hidesign in Pondicherry.<ref>[http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2007/06/29/stories/2007062950080300.htm The Hindu Business Line – French connection]</ref><br />
<br />
The French community in India is a consolidated group, brought together by a number of different organizations that aim to promote French culture in India. The French Club of Bombay is an organization that unites French speakers living in the city. The club meets at different locations in various parts of Mumbai so that meetings are conveniently located and have a good attendance.<ref>[http://www.ifcci.org.in/information-about-india/general-information/french-community.html: Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry – French community] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310130812/http://www.ifcci.org.in/information-about-india/general-information/french-community.html |date=March 10, 2012 }}</ref><br />
<br />
In February 2015, the Indo French Senior Citizens Association staged street protests in [[Puducherry (city)|Pondicherry]] to protest against denial of the French nationality and voting rights derived from the "[[History of Puducherry|treaty of cession]]" of French India territories, which guaranteed continued French citizenship to individuals whose birth and nativity certificate had been registered during the [[French India]] regime.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/puducherry/protest-for-french-nationality-voting-rights/article6931558.ece | title=Protest for French nationality, voting rights | date=25 February 2015 | newspaper=The Hindu | access-date=16 February 2020 }}</ref>[[File:Matrimandir.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The [[Matrimandir]], initiated by [[Mirra Alfassa|The Mother]] of the [[Sri Aurobindo Ashram]]]]<br />
<br />
==Notable people==<br />
* [[Abhishiktananda]] (born Henri Le Saux) – French [[Benedictine]] monk<br />
* [[Mirra Alfassa]] – also known as "The Mother"; spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo<br />
* [[Yvonne Artaud]] – French educator, ethnologist, psychologist and artist<br />
* [[Andre Beteille]] (born 1934) – Indian sociologist<br />
* [[Pierre Ceyrac (Jesuit)|Pierre Ceyrac]] – French Jesuit priest, engaged in charitable work<br />
* [[Christabel Chamarette]] – Senator for Western Australia (born in India and is of French Huguenot descent)<br />
* [[Alain Daniélou]] – French historian, intellectual, musicologist and Indologist<br />
* [[François Gautier]] – writer and journalist based in India<br />
* [[Catherine Grand]] – wife of [[Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord]], the first [[Prime Minister of France]]<br />
* [[Maïna Kataki]] – founder of the charity Samarpan Ashram<br />
* [[Kalki Koechlin]] – French actress born in Pondicherry<br />
* [[Jules Monchanin]] (known as Swami Paramarubyananda) – French Catholic priest, monk and hermit<br />
* [[Pavitra (disciple)|Pavitra]] – early disciple of Sri Aurobindo and [[Mirra Alfassa|The Mother]]<br />
* [[Satprem]] – author<br />
* [[Cyril Desbruslais]] - Jesuit priest, playwright and author.<br />
* [[Andreanne Nouyrigat]] - French actress based in Pondicherry<br />
<br />
==Bibliography==<br />
*[[Alexandra David-Néel|David-Néel, Alexandra]] (2002). L' Inde où j'ai vécu: Avant et après l'indépendance. Paris: Plon.<br />
*Elfi, Nicole (2008). Aux sources de l'Inde: L'initiation à la connaissance. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. <br />
*Gautier, François (2005). La caravane intérieure: Récit. Paris: Les Belles lettres.<br />
*Gautier, François (2008) Les Français en Inde – Pondichéry, Chandernagor, Mahé, Yanaon, Karikal. France Loisirs.<br />
*Sethna, K. D. (1987). The obscure and the mysterious: A research in Mallarmé's symbolic poetry. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education.<br />
<br />
==See also== <br />
{{Portal|France|India}}<br />
* [[Hinduism in Martinique]]<br />
* [[France–India relations]]<br />
* [[French India]]<br />
* [[Indians in France]]<br />
{{clear right}}<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
{{French dialects by continent}}<br />
{{Gallo-Romance languages and dialects}}<br />
{{Immigration to India}}<br />
{{French diaspora}}<br />
{{Portal bar|France|India}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Europeans in India]]<br />
[[Category:French diaspora by country|India]]<br />
[[Category:French diaspora in Asia|India]]<br />
[[Category:Indian people of French descent| ]]<br />
[[Category:French expatriates in India| ]]<br />
[[Category:Diasporas in India|French]]<br />
[[Category:People from Puducherry]]</div>LoganConger6625