Americans in France consists of immigrants and expatriates from the United States as well as French people of American ancestry. Immigration to France from the United States dates back to the 19th century and according to the American embassy in Paris, as of 2015, there are about 100,000 American citizens residing in France.

History

19th Century

Unofficial figures indicate that up to 50,000 free blacks emigrated to Paris from

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

in the decades after

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

sold the territory to the United States in 1803.
/ref>

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

was the art capital of the world in the nineteenth century and has attracted painters, sculptors, and architects from around the world including the United States. In the decades following the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, hundreds of Americans joined the throngs headed to Paris. American artists, who formed the largest contingent of foreign painters and sculptors in Paris, were only one segment of the capital's extensive American colony, which also included writers, businessmen, diplomats, and others in more-or-less permanent residence. Many American artists stayed together, and enclaves of them developed on the

Left Bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

, along the rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs and near the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

and the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

's headquarters. Although some lived in Paris for long periods—even the rest of their lives—most insisted on identifying themselves as American.

20th to 21st Century

World War I and the Aftermath

American Expeditionary Force Baker Mission

During the United States campaigns in World War I the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces. The first 14,000 U.S. infantry troops landed in France at the port of Saint Nazaire and by May 1918 over one million U.S. troops were stationed in France, half of them being on the front lines. In the aftermath of World War I, when about 200,000 were brought over to fight, Paris began to have an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

community. Ninety per cent of these soldiers were from the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

. France was viewed by many African Americans as a welcome change after incidents of

racism in the United States Racism has been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices, and actions (including violence) against Race (human categorization), racial or ethnic groups throughout the history of the United States. Since the early Colonial history of the Uni ...

. Beginning in the 1920s, U.S. intellectuals, painters, writers, and tourists were drawn to French art, literature, philosophy, theatre, cinema, fashion, wines, and cuisine. It was during this time that

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

was introduced to the French and black culture was born in Paris.

American expatriates in Paris, 1918–1940

With the defeat and dismantling of Austria at the end of World War I, Paris replaced Vienna as the cultural capital of Europe, if not of the world. Many foreigners settled in Paris during this period, some briefly and some long-term, some exiles and some voluntary, because of Paris's tolerance for unorthodox sexuality, politics, and art. The movement built on itself, as the more intellectuals and artists moved to Paris, the more attraction it had for others. Among the Americans living in Paris during this period are

Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

, Henry Miller,

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...

, Gertrude Stein, and Alice B. Toklas.

World War II

When France officially declared war on Germany in September 1939, as a response to the Third Reich's invasion of Poland, an estimated 30,000 Americans lived in or near Paris.Americans in Wartime Paris
, ''Bonjour Paris'' Although that declaration was followed by roughly nine-months of what often was called the "phony war" or "drôle de guerre," the inevitability of coming conflict led most of those expatriates to leave France while they could. In June 1940, the inevitable occurred with massive German attacks and after scarcely three weeks of battle, Nazi troops marched uncontested through the gates of Paris and some 5,000 Americans still were in the French capital. For various reasons, such as family ties and professional obligations, they had chosen to remain in Paris. At that moment, the United States was not at war, however, and not militarily allied with anyone. It was still a neutral nation. German occupying forces were legally obligated to treat U.S. citizens better than French nationals even though many were bi-nationals with French passports as well as American ones. Americans who stayed in the capital endured most of the shortages and hardships of their French neighbors but to some extent for nearly a year and a half they were not imprisoned by German occupying authorities. However, their lives were not easy and often tragic, in particular for

s and

Jewish American American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% id ...

s who were frequently singled out by the Nazis for harsher than normal treatment. Because the United States still remained neutral, the German occupying forces at first allowed long-standing institutions in the French capital such as the American hospital, the American library, the American church, the American Chamber of Commerce as well as various others of a commercial or charitable nature to remain open. When the United States entered the war, it led to a clamp down on U.S. citizens in German-occupied northern France. Many were rounded up and sent to internment camps. Those who were not still were obligated to report regularly to German occupying authorities or French police. Internments applied initially only to men although, in September, 1942, German authorities began to intern American women as well.

Aftermath of the War to Present Day

Many American students have been flocking to France for further education following the aftermath of the Second World War. In 2007–2008, more than 17,000 Americans studied in France as undergraduate and graduate students, a number which represented a 46 percent increase since 2001.

Religion

The American Church in Paris is the first American church established outside the United States. It started in 1814, when American Protestants started worshipping together in different homes around Paris. The first sanctuary was built in 1857, on rue de Berri.''Friendly Adventures'', by Joseph Wilson Cochran, published 1931 The American Church continues to minister to many Anglophone Protestants in Paris, both American and other English speaking communities, with multicultural programming, and a congregation of over nearly 40 nations and 35 Christian denominations. Similarly, American Cathedral in Paris has served the American community since the 1830s, when services were organized in the garden pavilion of the

Hôtel Matignon The Hôtel Matignon (, ) is the official residence of the Prime Minister of France. It is located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, at 57 Rue de Varenne. The name Matignon is often used as a metonym for the governmental action of the French p ...

. A parish was formally established in 1859 and the first church building consecrated in 1864 on Rue Bayard.

Education

Every year, some 17,000 American students travel to Paris, France to spend a semester or an academic year abroad, hundreds more participate in the Teaching Assistant Program in France, and still others go to France to work or to study independently of an American university program. The American School of Paris, founded in 1946 shortly after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, is the oldest American school in Europe. The school provides an American model of education to students from nearly 50 nations, 50% being American. Instruction is in English, and all students study French, either as a first or second language. The American Graduate School in Paris is a not-for-profit organization and it is recognized in France by the Ministry of Higher Education as a private institution of Higher Learning, and offers programs that are accredited in the United States. There is also the American School of Grenoble.

Notable people

References

External links

Americans in France
{{Migration to France from the Americas African-American diaspora in France

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Ethnic groups in France American emigration