French People

French people are an ethnic group largely found in Western Europe and a nation that is united by their shared French culture, history, and language, as well as their identification with the country of France.

The French people, particularly those who speak langues d'ol in northern and central France, are primarily descended from Gauls (including the Belgae) and Romans (or Gallo-Romans, western European Celtic and Italic peoples), as well as Germanic peoples such as the Franks, the Visigoths, the Suebi, and the Burgundians who settled in Gaul from east of the Rhine after the fall of the Roman Empire, as well as various later A group of Norse people arrived in Normandy in the 10th century and contributed to the Normans' genetic heritage. Furthermore, regional ethnic minorities exist in France that have distinct lineages, languages, and cultures, such as the Bretons in Brittany, the Occitans in Occitania, the Basques in the French Basque Country, the Catalans in northern Catalonia, the Germans in Alsace, and the Flemings in French Flanders, among others.

The French language has long been a patchwork of regional customs and differences, and while the majority of French people still speak the French language as their mother tongue, languages such as Norman, Picard, Poitevin-Saintongeais, Franco-Provencal, Occitan, Catalan, Auvergnat, Corsican, Basque, French Flemish, Lorraine Franconian, Alsatian, and Breton are still spoken in their respective regions. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Arabic was also extensively spoken in France, and it is considered to be the greatest minority language in the country (a spot previously held by Breton and Occitan).