Le Plus Grand Français de tous les temps ("The Greatest Frenchman of all Time") was a France 2 show of early 2005, based on an original series of Great Britons on the BBC. The show asked the French viewers whom they thought was the Greatest Frenchman or Frenchwoman. It was presented by Michel Drucker and Thierry Ardisson, and the final episode was broadcast at the French Senate.

The winner was the former president and leader of the Free French movement, Charles de Gaulle. ^[1]

The show was criticized by some historians in that it focused only on personalities of recent French history. Key figures of French history who contributed to the founding of the French nation, such as the national heroine Joan of Arc, the kings Philip Augustus, Saint Louis, and Louis XIV or French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte were largely ignored.

Rank	Personality		Notability	Nomination defended by	Ref.
1		Charles De Gaulle	General and president. Leader of the French resistance movement during World War II. President of France between 1944 and 1946 and between 1958 and 1969. Admired for giving post-war France international prestige and independence in their foreign policy.	Maurice Druon, historian [2]	[2]
2		Louis Pasteur	Chemist. Discovered vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization. Developed vaccines against rabies and anthrax.		[2]
3		Abbé Pierre	Priest who was a member of the Resistance movement during World War II. Founder of the Emmaus movement, who help poor and homeless people.		[2]
4		Marie Skłodowska-Curie	Polish physicist and chemist. Co-discoverer of radioactivity, radium and polonium. First woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physics (1903) and Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1911) and the only person to have won both.		[2]
5		Coluche	Comedian, actor and humanitarian activist. Founder of the Restaurants du Coeur, a non-profit charity movement who distribute food to the needy and help people out with finding housing.		[2]
6		Victor Hugo	Novelist, poet and playwright. Author of internationally famous and beloved works, such as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables. Also campaigned for freedom of the press and against the death penalty and social injustice.	Max Gallo, novelist. [2]	[2]
7		Bourvil	Comedian, actor and singer. His films and songs are still classics in France today and beloved in other countries too.		[2]
8		Molière	Playwright. Creator of internationally renowned comedy plays such as Tartuffe, The Miser and The Misanthrope. Praised for his satirical wit, socially critical themes and vivid characters. Considered the most important and influential French-language author of all time.		[2]
9		Jacques Cousteau	Explorer, inventor, documentary maker and oceanographer. Co-inventor of the Aqua-lung, which introduced modern underwater diving. Explored the oceans and made numerous documentaries about them. Championed for marine conservation.		[2]
10		Edith Piaf	Singer. Internationally famous and beloved for tragic and passionate songs, such as La Vie en Rose, Hymne à l'amour, Milord and Non, je ne regrette rien, which have been covered by numerous artists since.		[2]

From 11 to 102

11. Marcel Pagnol (1895-1974) – novelist, playwright and film director

12. Georges Brassens (1921-1981) – singer and songwriter

13. Fernandel (1903-1971) – singer, actor and comedian

14. Jean De La Fontaine (1621-1695) – poet and fabulist

15. Jules Verne (1828-1905) – Science fiction author

16. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) – military leader and emperor

17. Louis de Funès (1914-1983) – actor and comedian

18. Jean Gabin (1904-1976) – actor

19. Daniel Balavoine (1952-1986) – singer, songwriter and musician

20. Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991) – singer and songwriter

21. Zinedine Zidane (1972) – footballer

22. Charlemagne (748-814) – emperor

23. Lino Ventura (1919-1987) – actor

24. François Mitterrand (1916-1996) – president

25. Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) – architect

26. Émile Zola (1840-1902) – novelist

27. Emmanuelle Cinquin (1908-2008) – religious sister and humanitarian

28. Jean Moulin (1899-1943) – leader of French resistance during World War II

29. Charles Aznavour (1924-2018) – singer, songwriter and actor

30. Yves Montand (1921-1991) – actor and singer

31. Jeanne d’Arc (1412-1431) – military leader

32. Général Leclerc (1902-1947) – military leader

33. Voltaire (1694-1778) – philosopher and novelist

34. Johnny Hallyday (1943-2017) – singer

35. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944) – aviator, novelist and poet

36. Claude Francois (1939-1978) – singer

37. Christian Cabrol – cardiologist and surgeon

38. Jean-Paul Belmondo (1933-2021) – actor

39. Jules Ferry (1832-1893) – politician and prime minister

40. Louis Lumière – inventor, film director

41. Michel Platini (1955-) – footballer

42. Jacques Chirac (1932-2019) – president and prime minister

43. Charles Trenet (1913-2001) – singer and songwriter

44. Georges Pompidou (1911-1974) – president and prime minister

45. Michel Sardou (1947-) – singer

46. Simone Signoret (1921-1985) – actress

47. Haroun Tazieff (1914-1998) – vulcanologist

48. Jacques Prévert (1900-1977) – poet

49. Éric Tabarly (1931-1998) – sailor

50. Louis XIV (1638-1715) – king

51. David Douillet (1969-) – judoka

52. Henri Salvador (1917-2008) – singer and comedian

53. Jean-Jacques Goldman (1951-) – singer, songwriter and musician

54. Jean Jaurès (1859-1914) – politician

55. Jean Marais (1913-1998) – actor and comedian

56. Yannick Noah (1960-) – tennis player

57. Albert Camus (1913-1960) – author and philosopher

58. Dalida (1933-1987) – singer

59. Léon Zitrone (1914-1995) – journalist

60. Nicolas Hulot (1955-) – journalist

61. Simone Veil (1927-2017) – politician

62. Alain Delon (1935-) – actor

63. Patrick Poivre d'Arvor (1947-) – journalist

64. Aimé Jacquet (1941-) – footballer

65. Francis Cabrel (1953-) – singer and songwriter

66. Brigitte Bardot (1934-) – actress

67. Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) – author

68. Alexandre Dumas, père (1802-1870) – author and playwright

69. Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) – novelist

70. Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) – poet

71. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) – author and philosopher

72. Maximilien de Robespierre (1758-1794) – political leader

73. Renaud (1952-) – singer and Songwriter

74. Bernard Kouchner (1938-) – politician and humanitarian

75. Claude Monet (1840-1926) – painter

76. Michel Serrault (1928-2007) – actor

77. Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) – painter

78. Michel Drucker (1942) – journalist

79. Raimu (1883-1946) – actor and comedian

80. Vercingetorix (c.82BC-46BC) – chieftain who led resistance against the Roman army

81. Raymond Poulidor (1936-2019) – cyclist

82. Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) – poet

83. Pierre Corneille (1606-1684) – playwright

84. Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) – poet

85. Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929) – prime minister, and journalist

86. Gilbert Bécaud (1927-2001) – singer, songwriter and musician

87. José Bové (1953-) – syndicalist

88. Jean Ferrat (1930-2010) – singer and songwriter

89. Lionel Jospin (1937-) – prime minister

90. Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) – dramatist, poet, playwright and filmmaker

91. Luc Besson (1959-) – film director

92. Tino Rossi (1907-1983) – singer

93. Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937) – educator and founder of the modern Olympic Games

94. Jean Renoir (1894-1979) – film director

95. Gérard Philipe (1922-1959) – actor and comedian

96. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) – philosopher, novelist and playwright

97. Catherine Deneuve (1943-) – actress

98. Serge Reggiani (1922-2004) – actor, singer and comedian

99. Gérard Depardieu (1948-) – actor

100. Françoise Dolto (1908-1988) – psychoanalyst

101. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) – philosopher, mathematician, and scientist

102. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) – mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic theologian

See also

• Greatest Britons spin-offs
•   France portal

References

External links