A French Guatemalan is a citizen of Guatemala who has French ancestry. Guatemalans of French descent make up the third largest European-descended group in Guatemala, after the

German Guatemalan A German Guatemalan is a citizen of Guatemala whose ancestors were German settlers (along with other settlers from Belgium) who arrived in the 19th and 20th centuries. Guatemala had a massive immigration of Germans in the nineteenth century. The ...

s and Spanish Guatemalans. According to the French embassy, as of 31 December 2010, there are 803 French citizens in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

.Répartition par pays de la population française inscrite au registre au 31 décembre 2010
Ministère des Affaires étrangères et du Développement international

History

The history of the French in Guatemala is divided into three periods of migratory waves.

The late eighteenth century

After the French Revolution, capitalists and entrepreneurs came to create coffee plantations in several countries of

the Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...

; in

, the first of these were situated in the department of San Marcos in the southern

highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

. The French Revolution introduced new political concepts and aims which formed the basis for the platforms of the liberal, radical and democratic parties of most of the world and therefore of Guatemala. These ideas had great influence on revolutionary movements on Hispanic America.

Independence era

French veterans of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and the

Spanish American wars of independence The Spanish American wars of independence () took place across the Spanish Empire during the early 19th century. The struggles in both hemispheres began shortly after the outbreak of the Peninsular War, forming part of the broader context of the ...

(such as Nicolas Raoul, Isidoro Saget, and Henri Terralonge) offered their services during the independence wars.''Asociación para el Fomento de los Estudios Históricos en Centroamérica (AFEHC)'
Relaciones entre Francia y Guatemala (1823-1954)
Guatemala, 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2014. Initial diplomatic contact between France and Central America began in 1827; full diplomatic relations were established in 1830. This led to the arrival of French merchants, professionals, and tradesmen. Many of them married local women, which led to an increase in the number of Guatemalan people of French descent. Later some French politicians moved to

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

during the wars between liberals and

conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

. When the

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...

was divided, some French migrated to

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

although the majority remained in Guatemala.

Twentieth century

It is estimated that by 1900 there were approximately 8,000 French immigrants in

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

, three fourths of them in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and nearly a fifth in

. The presidency of General

José María Reina Barrios José María Reyna Barrios (December 24, 1854 – February 8, 1898) was President of Guatemala from March 15, 1892 until his assassination on February 8, 1898. He was a moderate of Guatemala's Liberal Party, who worked to solidify the less ...

, who was educated in

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 ...

, began a revival of diplomatic relations between

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 ...

and

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

. In 1920, after the triumph of the Unionist movement, several Guatemalan families of French origin came together to found a branch the

Alliance Francaise An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

Demography

Many Guatemalans of French descent still preserve the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

and customs and traditions of

. A large majority belong to the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

religion, though there are

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

minorities. Over 800 French people are estimated to live in

, making it the third largest French community in

, behind

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and

Notable French Guatemalans

Alberto Fuentes Mohr Alberto Fuentes Mohr (born 22 November 1927 – assassinated 25 January 1979) was a Guatemalan economist and politician, one of the founders of the Social Democratic Party. He also served as Minister of Finance and foreign minister during the 19 ...

(1927-1979) economist and politician, served as finance and foreign minister during the 1960s and was assassinated on 25 January 1979 for his social democratic ideas during the right-wing military repression of the General Romeo Lucas regime. His grandfather was Guillaume Mohr Laurent, French migrant and one of the pioneers in the cultivation of coffee on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. *

Edmond Mulet Edmond Auguste Mulet Lesieur (born 13 March 1951) is a Guatemalan diplomat, lawyer and notary public. He was appointed Head of the independent three-member panel to lead the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)-United N ...

, Guatemalan diplomat. Last Chief of Staff to former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. *

Enrique Gómez Carrillo Enrique Gómez Carrillo (February 27, 1873 in Guatemala City – November 29, 1927 in Paris) was a Guatemalan literary critic, writer, journalist and diplomat, and the second husband of the Salvadoran-French writer and artist Consuelo Suncin de ...

, writer, descendant of French great-grandfather *

Consuelo de Sánchez Latour Consuelo or Consuela may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Consuelo'' (novel), an 1842–1843 novel by George Sand * Consuela (''Family Guy''), a character in ''Family Guy'' *"Consuelo", a 2002 song by Belle and Sebastian from ''Storytelling'' ...

(1924-2015), writer, chronicler, and journalist. * Oscar Isaac Hernández Estrada, singer, actor, Golden Globe Award nominee, descendant of French great-grandmother * Harold Caballeros, evangelical pastor whose mother has French ancestry * Francisca Aparicio de Roda, wife of

Justo Rufino Barrios Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón (19 July 1835 – 2 April 1885) was a Guatemalan politician and military general who served as President of Guatemala from 1873 to his death in 1885. He was known for his liberal reforms and his attempts to reun ...

, of Spanish, French and Swiss origin. *

Walter Claverí Walter Enrique Claverí Alvarado (born 24 November 1957) is a Guatemalan football coach. He debuted in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against the United States. Claverí was a member of the Guatemalan team that won a bronze medal a ...

, footballer and football coach, descendant of French grandfather.

Guatemala–France relations

The language and arts

The

Alliance Française (; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...

and the Lycée Français Jules Verne are dedicated to the promotion of

French culture The culture of France has been shaped by Geography of France, geography, by History of France, historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high ...

and

Francophonie The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

in its various expressions: performing arts (music, theater, dance), visual arts (exhibitions, performances, film), lectures, discussions (literature, debates) and training (workshops, residences).

The French Embassy in Guatemala

The French Embassy in Guatemala is responsible for maintaining both cultural and diplomatic relations between

and

. It provides grants and scholarships for study in France. The current French ambassador to

is Philippe Franc.

French and Franco-Guatemalan associations

There are several associations: *Sección local de la Union de Franceses del Extranjero (UFE) *Sociedad Francesa de Beneficencia (SFB) *Guatem’accueil *Asociación de ex-estudiantes en Francia (AEF) *Establecimiento escolar francés Lycée Jules Verne *Alianza francesa de Guatemala *Alianza francesa de la Antigua *Alianza francesa de Quetzaltenango *Antena del Centro francés de Estudios Mexicanos y Centroamericanos (CEMCA)

Education

Lycée Français Jules Verne, a French international school, is located in

Fraijanes Fraijanes is a town, with a population of 60,288 (2018 census), and a municipality in the Guatemala department of Guatemala. It is known for its fine tasting coffee, which is slightly more acidic than that of Antigua Guatemala. History Archbi ...

.Lieu et accès
" ''Lycée Français Jules Verne''. Retrieved on 18 January 2015. ""1^a Avenida 2-62 Zona1, Aldea Don Justo Km. 18.5 a San Jose Pinula 01062 FRAIJANES"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:French Immigration To Guatemala Immigration to Guatemala European diaspora in Guatemala Guatemalan people of French descent