French Australians

French Australians

Total population
French 36,028 (by birth, 2021) 148,922 (by ancestry, 2021)
Regions with significant populations
France-born people by state or territory
New South Wales	8,936
Victoria	5,615
Queensland	4,980
Western Australia	2,792
South Australia	1,616
Languages
Australian English French
Religion
No Religion 55.1% Roman Catholic 30.2% Not Stated 3.8% Protestant (Huguenot) 1.5% Islam 1.3%
Related ethnic groups
French people Canadian Australians Québécois Cajuns Acadians Franco-Mauritians French New Zealanders

French Australians (Template:Langx), are Australian citizens or residents of French ancestry, or French-born people who reside in Australia. According to the 2021 Census, there were 148,922 people of French descent in Australia and 36,028 French-born people residing in the country. The largest French Australian community is in the state of New South Wales.

Demography

File:Australian Census 2011 demographic map - Inner Sydney by POA - BCP field 1090 French Total Responses.svg

People with French ancestry as a percentage of the population in Sydney divided geographically by postal area, as of the 2011 census.

According to the 2006 Australian census, 98,332 Australians (or 0.47% of the population) claim French ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry. Of these, 19,186 were born in France and 12,735 of them had since acquired Australian citizenship.

8,281 (or 43%) of the residents born in France had arrived in Australia in 1979 or earlier.

French Australian demography by religion (note that it include only French born in France and not australian with French ancestries)

Religious group	2021		2016		2011
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Catholic	10,894 Decrease	Decrease	11,216 Increase	Decrease	11,093
Eastern Orthodox	183 Decrease	Decrease	201 Decrease	Decrease	220
Protestant and Other christian	1,762 Increase	Decrease	1,675 Decrease	Decrease	1,730
(Total Christian)	12,845 Decrease	Decrease	13,098 Increase	Decrease	13,041
Islam	485 Increase	Increase	263 Increase	Decrease	212
No religion	20,159 Increase	Increase	14,683 Increase	Increase	8,776
Buddhism	359 Decrease	Decrease	378 Increase	Decrease	350
Hinduism	90 Increase	Decrease	86 Increase	Decrease	77
Judaism	470 Increase	Increase	398 Decrease	Decrease	461
Other	86 Decrease	Decrease	81 Decrease	Decrease	106
Not stated	1,527 Decrease	Decrease	2,138 Increase	Increase	1,659
Total French Australian population	36,019 Increase		31,120 Increase		24,675

French Australian demography by religion (Ancestry included)

Religious group	2021		2016		2011
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Catholic	53,768 Decrease	Decrease	56,599 Increase	Decrease	52,584
Eastern Orthodox	880 Increase	Steady	792 Increase	Decrease	770
Protestant and Other christian	29,271 Decrease	Decrease	32,147 Increase	Decrease	29,130
(Total Christian)	83,930 Decrease	Decrease	89,539 Increase	Decrease	82,485
Islam	1,225 Increase	Increase	781 Increase	Decrease	683
No religion	90,236 Increase	Increase	63,825 Increase	Increase	40,066
Buddhism	1,643 Decrease	Decrease	1,775 Increase	Decrease	1,596
Hinduism	291 Increase	Decrease	280 Increase	Decrease	242
Judaism	1,431 Increase	Decrease	1,314 Decrease	Decrease	1,426
Other	803 Increase	Decrease	742 Decrease	Decrease	824
Not stated	5,393 Decrease	Decrease	8,257 Increase	Decrease	7,761
Total French Australian population	184,946 Increase		166,506 Increase		135,074

History

Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec, Lapérouse, Louis Antoine de Bougainville, Jules Dumont d'Urville, Nicolas Baudin, François Péron and Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne were some of the early European explorers to reach the continent. Francis Barrallier explored the Blue Mountains.

Many Australians with French ancestry are descended from Huguenot refugees. Some of the earliest Huguenots to arrive in Australia held prominent positions in English society, notably Jane Franklin and Charles La Trobe.

Others who came later were from poorer Huguenot families. They migrated to Australia from England in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to escape the poverty in the East End of London, notably in the Huguenot enclaves of Spitalfields and Bethnal Green. Their impoverishment had been brought about by the effect of the Industrial Revolution, which caused the collapse of the Huguenot-dominated silk-weaving industry.

A number of French orders of priests, nuns and brothers have contributed to the Catholic Church in Australia. They included the teaching orders of the De La Salle Brothers, Marist Brothers and Marist Sisters. The prominent school St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill was founded by the French Marist Brother Emilian Pontet in 1881. The Marist Fathers staffed parishes and conducted missionary activities in the South Pacific. The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, based in Kensington, New South Wales, ran missions in remote Australia and New Guinea.

French architectural influence is still visible in Hunters Hill, not only in church buildings but also but in private houses built by the unusually large number of French settlers in the suburb.

The largest post-war increase in French migration to Australia came during the 1960s and 1970s; unlike many other European countries, France did not establish a migration scheme in the immediate post-war period due to chronic underemployment, despite Australia seeing the French as some of the most desirable immigrants to obtain during that era.

Since that time, there has only been a small flow of French immigrants to Australia. Many people in the French-Australian community now originate from French overseas territories, especially New Caledonia.

Culture

Today, the Brisbane French Festival, held over the Bastille Day weekend, is Australia's biggest French festival. Participants include both French-born Australians and Australians of more distant French ancestry.

Alliance Française has an active presence in most Australian cities, teaching the French language, holding cultural events such as Beaujolais Nouveau festivals and sponsoring the nation's annual French film festival. SBS has also done much to increase the popularity of French cinema and culture with Australian audiences, though Hollywood still predominates with mainstream audiences.

Some Australians of French Huguenot descent have completely assimilated into the country's predominantly Anglo-Saxon culture but most still quietly but tenaciously hold on to as many aspects as they can of their French heritage and identify themselves very much as Huguenots, even hundreds of years after being exiled. The Huguenot Society of Australia does much to encourage Australian Huguenots to embrace their cultural heritage and provides genealogical research services.

French cuisine has influenced the nation with French-inspired cafes, restaurants and boulangeries to be found in most major cities. French immigrant chefs, particularly those who appear on television, have done much to promote French cooking and food philosophy, including a growing understanding of the concept of terroir.

The French Benevolent Society has an active presence in the nation, providing a support network for elderly and incapacitated French Australians.

Most of the French-born people in Australia are Roman Catholics and the Reformed Church of France (Église Réformée de France) is yet to establish a presence in the country, despite the vibrant group of Australians of Huguenot descent. However, Taizé-style services are becoming increasingly popular with both Roman Catholics and Protestants from a variety of denominations. Taizé provides one of the key grassroots ecumenical movements in the nation.

Education

French international schools in Australia include:

• Lycée Condorcet (Sydney)
• Telopea Park School (Canberra)
• Auburn High School (Melbourne)
• Tingalpa State School/École publique de Tingalpa (Brisbane)
• École maternelle franco-australienne Red Hill (Canberra)
• Section Française de Caulfield Junior College/École française de Melbourne (Melbourne)