Asian French
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Approximately 1 million (1.5% of the French population); it is illegal for the state to collect data on ethnicity and race. | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Throughout most major urban areas in France (Paris region, Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes, etc.) | |
| Languages | |
| French, Asian languages | |
| Religion | |
| Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Chinese folk religion, Confucianism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Asian peoples |
Asians in France or Asian French are either foreign residents or French citizens of Asian origin living in France. French citizens of Asian descent primarily have ancestry from the former French colonies in Asia (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) or China. Other Asian ethnic groups found in France include South Asians, Japanese and Koreans. Middle Easterners are often not considered Asian in France because of large differences in culture and ethnic composition from the rest of the Asian continent as well as racial relationships between the group and general French populace.
The population of ethnic Khmers in France as of 2011 is estimated to be about 80,000, making the community one of the largest in the Cambodian diaspora. The Cambodian population in France has had a presence in the country dating to well before the Vietnam War and subsequent Indochina refugee crisis, unlike counterpart communities in North America and Australia.
Early Cambodian immigration to France began in the latter half of the 19th century, when Cambodia became a French protectorate. The first migrants largely consisted of students and workers belonging to the country's elite class. While most Cambodians arrived as refugees as a result of Indochina's heavy turmoil during the latter half of the 20th century, their large-scale arrival was later than other Indochinese immigrants. Although a few Cambodians were able to flee from the Khmer Rouge takeover in 1975 with French assistance, a much larger influx arrived in the 1980s following the regime collapse and end of the Cambodian Genocide.
Chinese form the largest Asian ethnic group in France, with a population of roughly 600,000 as of 2010.
The first Chinese migrants to France consisted of traders in the leather and Chinese ceramics trade originating from the Wenzhou region during the early 1900s. During World War I, a few thousand Chinese laborers were recruited by the French Empire to help with war efforts in Metropolitan France, doing tasks such as working at munitions depots or ports and repairing railways and roads. A small number remained in France after the war ended, settling largely in the Chinese quarter of Paris established earlier by the Wenzhounese merchants, forming the basis of the Chinese community in France. Chinese immigration to France continued as a trickle during the 1930s and 1940s, with some tradesmen and students arriving in the country, primarily to Paris. A much larger inflow of ethnic Chinese arrived in France after the end of the Vietnam War and the heavy persecution of ethnic Chinese in Vietnam by the new communist government in 1975, along with a larger influx of immigrants from the Wenzhou region of China.
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Wikipedia