Which country has the largest Jewish population, after the Land of Israel and the United States? France! But the relationship between France and its Jews has been anything but smooth. Throughout history, French Jews have experienced both severe persecution and incredible growth. Read on for 15 facts about the fascinating story of “Les Juifs de France.”
1. They Arrived With the Romans
Jews have been living in France for an incredibly long time! Many arrived in the region during the Roman era, when France was known as Gaul.1 According to one tradition, Jewish presence in France goes back even further, possibly to the time of the First Temple.2
2. It Has Its Own Hebrew Name: Tzarfat or Tzorfas
The Jews who arrived in France referred to it as צרפת, pronounced Tzorfas or Tzarfat. The name appears in Scripture in Obadiah 1:20, where it, along with Sepharad (Spain), are identified as places to which Jews were exiled. There, Rashi identifies Tzarfat as none other than France.
3. France Helped Mold Ashkenazi Jewry
In medieval Europe, Jewish life was dominated by (but not limited to) centers in two major regions: Spain and Portugal, and France and Germany. The cultural and historical differences between these areas led to the formation of two distinct Jewish communities—Sephardim and Ashkenazim. France played a significant role in shaping Ashkenazi Jewish traditions and scholarship.
4. It Produced Rashi and His School
Medieval France was a hub of Jewish learning and Torah scholarship. One of the most famous Jewish scholars of all time, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki—better known as Rashi—lived, taught, and wrote in Troyes. His commentaries on the Bible and Talmud remain central to Jewish learning today, and many of his definitions of Hebrew words use Old French!
Read: Who Was Rashi?
Another influential group of French scholars, known as the Tosafists, are famous for their penetrating analysis of the Talmud. They included Torah giants like Rabbi Yaakov ben Meir (Rabbenu Tam) in Ramerupt, Rabbi Shimshon in Sens, Rabbi Yechiel in Paris, and many more.
Read: The Tosafists
5. They Faced Terrible Persecution
Despite being a center of Jewish scholarship, medieval France was also the site of brutal persecution. The First and Second Crusades devastated many Jewish communities. Blood libels—false accusations that Jews kidnapped and killed Christian children—led to tragic events like the burning of 40 Jews in Blois in 1171. In 1242, 24 wagonloads of precious Talmud manuscripts were burned in Paris by order of the Pope, a devastating loss for Jewish scholarship.
6. France Expelled Its Jews—Long Before Spain
While many people associate Jewish expulsion with Spain in 1492, France actually expelled its Jewish communities much earlier. Some early expulsions in the 14th century were later reversed, but in 1394, the Jews were permanently expelled from the country. It wasn’t until the 17th century that Jews returned and began reestablishing their communities.
Read: The Spanish Expulsion
7. Jacob Pereira Taught the Deaf
Jacob Rodrigues Pereira, a Portuguese converso who returned to Judaism, was instrumental in obtaining government permission for Jews to return to Paris and the rest of northern France. Additionally, he was a trailblazer in the field of deaf education. He developed an innovative system of sign language to help communicate with the deaf and taught students in Bordeaux before continuing his work in Paris. In 1755, he was visited by the esteemed Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azoulai (the Chida), who was deeply impressed by Pereira’s unique educational techniques.3
8. French Freedom Was a Double-Edged Sword
The French Revolution of 1789, famous for its call of “liberty, equality, fraternity,” marked a major turning point for French Jews. For the first time, they were granted full and equal rights as citizens. When Napoleon later conquered much of Europe, he spread this idea of Jewish emancipation to other lands.
Many Jewish leaders, however, recognized the danger of this new movement. While political freedom liberated the body, it endangered the soul, opening the door to assimilation and the erosion of Jewish observance and tradition.4
Read: Is Judaism a Theocracy?
9. Napoleon’s “Sanhedrin” Was a Failed Experiment
![Contemporary illustration of the "Grand Sanhedrin." - Michel François Damane Demartrais](https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1315/AWkX13154387.jpg?_i=_n504BC99DD0473598AAE3BCDC5D75568D "Contemporary illustration of the "Grand Sanhedrin." - Michel François Damane Demartrais")
Napoleon had grand plans for his Jewish subjects, including the creation of a Jewish supreme legal body, which he called the “Sanhedrin,” after the ancient Jewish high court. However, this was less about supporting Jewish law and more about controlling Jewish life to align with his policies. The experiment didn’t last long—just months after its creation, Napoleon faced setbacks in his Russian campaign and the “Sanhedrin” was dissolved.
Read: The Jewish Court System
10. The Dreyfus Affair: A Shocking Case of Modern Anti-Semitism
In 1894, a Jewish French army officer, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, was falsely accused of treason. The trial was full of antisemitic bias, and despite a lack of real evidence, Dreyfus was convicted and exiled to the infamous Devil’s Island. For over four years, he suffered in isolation, while Jewish activists and prominent French figures fought for his freedom. He was eventually pardoned, but the Dreyfus Affair remains a dark chapter in French history, proving that even in the modern era, antisemitism continues to rear its ugly head.
Read: The Dreyfus Affair
11. Paris Became a Hub of Jewish Life
After the French Revolution granted Jews full rights, Paris attracted a large influx of Jewish residents. Over time, it grew into the country’s most significant Jewish community. Among its distinguished residents was Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the future Rebbe, who lived in Paris from 1933 to 1940. Today, Paris boasts the largest Jewish community in all of Europe.
12. The Holocaust Was a Dark Time for French Jewry
When Nazi Germany invaded France in 1940, the country was split in two: the north and west were directly occupied by the Nazis, while the south and east were controlled by the Vichy government, a French regime that collaborated with Hitler. Tragically, antisemitism became the law of the land in both regions. Over the next four years, more than 75,000 French Jews—about a quarter of the Jewish population—were deported and murdered, most of them at Auschwitz.
13. North African Jews Have Bolstered Their Ranks
After France colonized North Africa, the many Jews in the region became fluent in French and familiar with French culture. It was thus natural that, as country after country gained independence, Jewish people from Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco streamed into France. Today, they are a visible and colorful part of French Jewish life, which they have infused with their unique cultural and religious inspiration.
14. Chabad Has a Prominent Presence
After the war, hundreds of Chabad refugees settled in Paris, many remaining there permanently. They founded a yeshiva in Brunoy, a suburb of Paris, which remains active today. In 1968, the Rebbe sent Rabbi Shmuel Azimov to Paris, where he headed a Jewish “French Revolution,” changing the lives of tens of thousands. At the same time, an “empire” of Jewish schools, under the banner of Sinai, was built by the Pewzner family. Today, just about 200 Chabad Houses operate throughout the country, bringing the light of Judaism to every Jew.
Read: Rabbi Shmuel Azimov, the Rabbi Who Revived Jewish Life in France
15. It Boasts a Thriving Jewish Community
Today, France has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel and the United States. The country is full of vibrant Jewish life, with thousands of schools, synagogues, Chabad Houses, and other Jewish institutions. Ironically, although once equated with assimilation and secularism, France today is a stronghold of Torah study, Jewish tradition, and Chassidic life.5
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