French migration to the United Kingdom

French migration to the United Kingdom is a phenomenon that has occurred at various points in history. The Norman Conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066 resulted in the arrival of French aristocracy, while in the 16th and 17th centuries Protestant Huguenots fled religious persecution to East London. Other waves (but less likely to have put down permanent roots) are associated with monasticism, particularly post -conquest Benedictines and Cistercians, aristocracy fleeing the French Revolution, expulsion of religious orders by Third Republic France, and current economic migrants (seeking employment opportunities not necessarily open to their British counterparts in France).

The 2011 UK Census recorded 137,862 French-born people living in the UK. Almost half of these were resident in the capital, London. Many more British people have French ancestry.

French remains the foreign language most learned by Britons. It has traditionally been spoken as a second language by the country's educated classes and its popularity is reinforced by the close geographical proximity between Great Britain and France.

History

Much of the UK's medieval aristocracy was descended from Franco-Norman migrants to England at or after the time of the Norman Conquest. Well known families that originated from the Norman Conquest period, include the Grosvenor family whose original name was "Gros Veneur" meaning (in Norman) "great hunter" or "grand hunter". Their legacy can be found throughout much of London with at least five hundred roads, squares and buildings bearing their family names and titles, and the names of place and people connected with them, including Grosvenor Square and Grosvenor House. A large number of British people are also descended from the Huguenots, French Protestants who in the 16th and 17th centuries fled religious persecution in France. Although a substantial French Protestant community existed in London from the sixteenth century, the suppression of Protestantism in France in the 1680s led to a mass migration of predominantly Calvinist refugees, most of whom settled in London. Divided between Spitalfields in the east and Soho in the west, the French Protestant community was one of the largest and most distinctive communities of the capital.

Population and distribution

The 2011 UK Census recorded 127,601 French-born residents in England, 2,203 in Wales,^[1] 7,147 in Scotland,^[2] and 911 in Northern Ireland,^[3] making a UK total of 137,862. The previous, 2001 UK Census, had recorded 96,281 French-born residents.^[4] The Office for National Statistics estimates that 150,000 French-born immigrants were resident in the UK in 2013.^[5]

Of the French-born people recorded by the 2011 census, 66,654 (48.4 per cent) lived in Greater London and 22,584 (16.4 per cent) in South East England. Within London, particular concentrations were recorded in the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham.^[1] There are several French schools in London, some independent, and others, La Petite École Française in west London and the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, situated in South Kensington and run by the French state. The French Consulate in London has estimated that 270,000 French people live in the city, but the ONS contests this, pointing out that the number of French passport holders recorded by the 2011 census was only 86,000. The French Embassy's estimate includes London plus "the south eastern quadrant of the UK including Kent, Oxfordshire and maybe Sussex too".^[6]

Many British people have French ancestry. According to a 2010 study by Ancestry.co.uk, three million British people are of French descent.^[7]

Education

French international schools in the United Kingdom:

• Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle
• Lycée International de Londres Winston Churchill - London
• École française de Bristol
• École d'entreprise Total (Aberdeen)

Notable people

Famous British people with French ancestry include Davina McCall, Louis Theroux, Simon Le Bon, Noel Fielding and Emma Watson.^[7] French chefs working in the UK include Raymond Blanc, who has spent most of his working life in Britain and presents cookery programmes on British television,^[8] and brothers Albert and Michel Roux, who in 1982 were the first chefs in Britain to be awarded three Michelin stars, for their cooking at Le Gavroche.^[9] At the start of the 2011–12 season, there were more French footballers playing in the Premier League than any other nationality, apart from British and Irish.^[10] Frenchman Arsène Wenger is the Premier League's longest serving current manager, having taken over the role at Arsenal F.C. in October 1996.^[11]

See also

• British migration to France

References

External links

• French Institute London
• French Protestant Church of London
• Reassessing what we collect website – French London History of French London with objects and images

French diaspora
Africa	Algeria Madagascar Mauritius Namibia (Afrikaners) Seychelles South Africa (Afrikaners)
Asia	Hong Kong India Israel Japan Korea Lebanon Pakistan United Arab Emirates
Europe	Netherlands (Huguenots) United Kingdom (Huguenots)
North America	Canada Acadians Québécois Breton Cuba Guatemala Haiti Jamaica Mexico Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis United States Cajuns French Canadians Huguenots Breton Corsican Basque
Oceania	Australia New Caledonia New Zealand
South America	Argentina Brazil Chile Peru Uruguay
See also	Basques Bretons Walloons Corsican immigration to Puerto Rico
Migration of minorities in France (i.e. Basques) can be considered as separate (ethnically) or French migration (by nationality).