French Mexicans (, or ) are Mexican citizens of full or partial French ancestry. French nationals make up the second largest European immigrant group in Mexico, after

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

Migration history

French immigration to Mexico started only on a small scale before Mexico became an independent country in 1821, as foreign immigration was sometimes prohibited by Spanish authorities under the colonial regime. The first wave of French immigration to Mexico occurred in the 1830s, following the country's recognition by France, with the foundation of a French colony on the Coatzacoalcos River, in the state of

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. In total, 668 settlers were brought from France to populate the colony. Most of them went back to France as the project of colonization failed, but some permanently settled in Mexico. In 1833, another colony was founded in the state of

as well, under the name of Jicaltepec. A second wave of French immigration came to Mexico at the end of the 1840s, during the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

(at the time gold was discovered, California was still part of the Mexican territory). As a consequence, in 1849 French represented the second foreign community in Mexico after Spaniards. Between 1850 and 1914, Mexico received 11,000 French immigrants. According to the 2010 Census, French people form the second largest European emigrant community in Mexico after

, and eleventh overall immigrant community. There are around 9,500 French nationals registered in Mexico and about 6,000 to 7,000 Frenchmen unregistered. Two thirds of them are Mexicans of French ancestry holding double nationality. Many Mexicans of French descent live in cities and states such as

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

, Queretaro and

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Second Mexican Empire

Most French Mexicans descend from immigrants and soldiers that settled in Mexico during the

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (; ), officially known as the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists with the support of the Second French Empire. This period is often referred to as the Second ...

, headed by

Maximilian I of Mexico Maximilian I (; ; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian archduke who became Emperor of Mexico, emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 until his execution by the Restored Republic (Mexico), Mexican Republ ...

and masterminded by

Emperor Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

of France and the Mexican conservatives in the 1850’s to create a Latin empire in the New World (indeed responsible for coining the term of Amérique latine, or '

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

'). Emperor Maximilian's consort,

Carlota of Mexico Charlotte of Mexico (; ; 7 June 1840 – 19 January 1927), known by the Spanish version of her name, Carlota, was by birth a princess of Belgium and member of the House of Wettin in the branch of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (as such she was also ...

, a princess of Belgium, was a granddaughter of

Louis-Philippe of France Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his thron ...

The "Barcelonnettes"

The largest wave of immigration from France to Mexico came from the city of

Barcelonnette Barcelonnette (; , also ; obsolete ) is a Communes of France, commune of France and a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Departments of France, department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It is l ...

, in

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (sometimes abbreviated as AHP; ; ; ), formerly until 1970 known as Basses-Alpes (, ), is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the sou ...

. Between 1850 and 1950, 5,000 to 6,000 inhabitants of the

Ubaye Valley The Ubaye Valley is an area in the Alpes de Haute-Provence ''département'', in the French Alps, having approximately 7,700 residents. Its residents are called ''Ubayens''. Its principal town is the ''sous-préfecture'' of Barcelonnette. 350px, A ...

immigrated to Mexico. Many established textile businesses between Mexico and France. While 90% stayed in Mexico, some returned to Barcelonette, and from 1880 to 1930, built grand mansions called ''Maisons Mexicaines'' and left a mark upon the city. Today, there are 60,000 descendants of the "Barcelonnettes".

French settlement in Veracruz

In 1833, 98 persons coming from

Haute-Saône Haute-Saône (; Frainc-Comtou: ''Hâte-Saône''; English: Upper Saône) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of northeastern France. Named after the river Saône, it had a population of 235,313 in 2019.

Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or () is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.

and

Yonne Yonne (, in Burgundian: ''Ghienne'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight con ...

settled in a colony called Jicaltepec, in the state of

. In 1874, the community resettled on the other bank of the river, in San Rafael. From 1880 to 1900 the population of the colony grew from 800 to 1,000 inhabitants. There are now around 10,000 French Mexicans in the state of Veracruz.

Involvement in World War II

Jean René Champion, a Mexican of French ancestry, was the first

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army ( ; AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (; FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated ...

(''Forces Françaises Libres'') officer to enter Paris on the day when the city was liberated from the Nazis on August 26, 1944.

French contributions to Mexican society

The French introduced cultural traits adopted by the Mexican culture and may have helped coin the term “

Mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two ...

”, though it is not certain. The word “

” may have originated during French

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 ...

ic rule in the 1860s since French settler families used the music during weddings (marriage). Clark attributes this to "phonetic coincidence" (Clark, 1996). An important culinary contribution was the bolillo, which is now widely used for the

torta Torta is a culinary term that can, depending on the cuisine, refer to cakes, pies, flatbreads, sandwiches, or omelettes. Usually, it refers to: * cake or pie in South America, much of Europe, and southern Philippines * flatbread in Spain * a t ...

. The French also heavily influenced Mexico's pan dulce.

Education

There are two French international schools in Mexico: * Lycée Franco-Mexicain (campuses in Mexico City and Cuernavaca) * Lycée Français de Guadalajara

Notable French-Mexicans

* Luis G. Abbadie, writer * León Aillaud, governor of Veracruz * Miirrha Alhambra, French-born Mexican pianist * Pita Amor, poet, of French descent * Ramón Arnaud, Mexican Army and the last Mexican governor of Clipperton Island; of French descent * Aracely Arámbula, Mexican actress, model, and singer; of French and Basque descent *

Alberto Baillères Alberto Baillères González (22 August 1931 – 2 February 2022) was a Mexican billionaire businessman. , he had an estimated net worth of US$10.1 billion according to ''Forbes''. He was the chairman of Grupo BAL, and of ITAM. Early life Bail ...

, third-richest man in Mexico *

Alejandro Baillères Alejandro Baillères Gual (born May 1960) is a Mexican businessman, the CEO of Grupo Nacional Provincial, and the son of the billionaire Alberto Baillères. Alejandro Baillères was born in May 1960. He has a degree from Stanford University. He ...

, CEO of Grupo Nacional Provincial, son of Alberto Baillères *

Jean-Louis Berlandier Jean-Louis Berlandier (1803 – 1851) was a French-Mexican natural history, naturalist, physician, and anthropologist. Early life Berlandier was born in Geneva, and later trained as a Botany, botanist there. During this time he probably served a ...

, scientist * Angelique Boyer, Mexican, French-born telenovela actress * Linda Christian, movie actress, of French descent * Manuel Clouthier, businessman and politician * Tatiana Clouthier, politician, writer, and entrepreneur * Carlos Loret de Mola, Mexican journalist of French descent * Edgar de Evia, Mexican-born American photographer *

Eugenio Derbez Eugenio González Derbez (; born September 2, 1961) is a Mexican actor and comedian. He has appeared in many films and television series, including '' The Book of Life'', ''The Angry Birds Movie 2'', and '' CODA''. In the 2010s, he appeared in ...

, actor, comedian, and film director; of French descent on his great grandmother's side (Gilly) *

Consuelo Duval María del Consuelo Dussauge Calzada (born 11 January 1969), more commonly known by her stage name Consuelo Duval, is a Mexican comedian and actress of film, television, theatre, and voice-over. She is known for her various comic characters suc ...

, Mexican actress of French descent * Yolanda Vargas Dulché, writer, mother of French origin * Roberto Heinze Flamand, sprint canoeist, of French descent * Eugène Goupil, French-born Mexican philanthropist and collector * Francisco Romano Guillemin, artist, of French descent * Ralph Heinze, sprint canoeist, of French descent * Claude Heller, ambassador, of German and French descent * Saturnino Herrán, painter * Lourdes Grobet, photographer * José de la Borda, French-born Mexican philanthropist * Gustavo Huet, Mexican-born American athlete, of French descent * Emilio Azcárraga Jean, businessman, of French descent * Frédéric-Yves Jeannet, French-born Mexican writer and professor * Elizabeth Katz, actress and former model, of French descent * Michelito Lagravere, child bullfighter, to French father * Lou Lopez Sénéchal, basketball player, French mother and Mexican father *

Alberto Ruz Lhuillier Alberto Ruz Lhuillier (27 January 1906 – 25 August 1979) was a Mexican archaeologist. He specialized in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeology and is well known for leading the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) excavations ...

, French-born Mexican archaeologist * Ángel Navarro, French-born leading Spanish settler in New Spain * Montserrat Olivier, actress, television presenter, and former fashion model *

Roberto Palazuelos Roberto Palazuelos Badeaux (born January 31, 1967), better known as Roberto Palazuelos () or ('The Black Diamond'), is a Mexican actor, model, and producer best known for his work in Mexican telenovelas. Early life Roberto Palazuelos was bo ...

, actor, mother of French origin * André-Pierre Gignac, footballer, naturalized Mexican citizen * Elena Poniatowska, French-born Mexican journalist and author; French and Mexican

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

descent * Antonio Enríquez Savignac, politician * Laurette Séjourné, Italian-born Mexican archaeologist and ethnologist, of French descent * Eugenio Toussaint, composer, arranger, and jazz musician * Eduardo Troconis, race-car driver * Adrián Woll, 19th-century Mexican general, born and died in France * José Youshimatz, Mexican-born American, retired track cyclist and road bicycle racer; of French descent * DJ Trevi, Mexican-American, DJ, producer, composer, and actor; of French descent