15th–17th century Portuguese Jews in France: the great immigration (1497–1600s ca.) Even though contacts between the two countries were established in the Antiquity and the first
king of Portugal was of French descent, for many centuries migration routes remained rather unexplored. cemetery plaque in ParisIt is only in the 16th century that one of the first relevant influxes of
Portuguese people coming to France was recorded. This immigration was partly a result of the
expulsion decree issued in 1496 by the
Portuguese monarchy, which targeted Jews and
Moors living in
Portugal. This decree forced many Jews to either
convert to Christianity (leading to the emergence of
Cristão-novos and of
Crypto-Judaism practices) or leave the country, leading to a
diaspora of Portuguese Jews throughout Europe, including France. Starting from 1550 they were recognized rights previously reserved to
French citizens only, thus encouraging further immigration. It is believed that up to 10,000 Portuguese-Jews might have migrated to France from 1497; this phenomenon remained noticeable up until the 1600s, when the Netherlands became a favourite choice. As of consequence many Portuguese-Jews settled in the western provinces of France, most notably in
Nouvelle-Aquitaine establishing communities in cities such as
Biarritz,
Bayonne,
Bordeaux,
La Rochelle and
Nantes. In the latter alone, in 1590 100 people of Portuguese-Jewish descent
naturalized. in Paris, built by the
Pereire brothers, of
Portuguese-Jewish descentAt the beginning of the 17th century, some relaxed their observation of the Christian religion, and in the middle of the century, they stopped completely, returning openly to Judaism. They are then referred to as
Juifs portugais (Portuguese Jews). When the Jews, who had settled as new Christians in Bayonne or Bordeaux, fleeing the
Spanish or
Portuguese Inquisition, openly returned to Judaism, they began to celebrate
services according to their original
rite, which will be called mistakenly as a
Rite portugais or Portuguese rite, when it has its source in Spain and many texts or prayers are said in Spanish. Unlike the
Jews of Spanish origin who took refuge in
Turkey, Greece and the
Sephardic part of Bulgaria, who adopted
Ladino (a
sacred language, a mixture of
Hebrew and Spanish) for their prayers, the Jews of Bayonne and Bordeaux never used it.
Haïm Vidal Séphiha,
professor emeritus and first holder of the chair of Judeo-Spanish at the
Sorbonne, explains this difference by the proximity of Spain and the many commercial relations that the community maintained with this country. cemetery near
Bordeaux The Portuguese-Jewish community was very active in
international trade, mainly with
countries where other
Jewish communities of Spanish or Portuguese origin were established. in Paris, dedicated to notable members of the Among others, trade is flourishing with the
Caribbean, the
Netherlands Antilles,
Amsterdam and London. In particular, the Bayonne Jews introduced chocolate to France and made Bayonne the
capitale du chocolat (chocolate capital) which it has remained. Among notable Portuguese-Jews or people of Portuguese-Jewish descent having lived or moved to France, it is noteworthy to remember personalities such as
Abraham Espinoza, grandfather of the world-famous
philosopher,
Abraham Furtado,
Henri Castro,
Elias Legarde,
Solomon de Medina and
Marc Bédarride. In addition, the first
Jew recorded to having set foot in Canada,
Esther Brandeau as well as
Jacob Rodrigues Pereira, one of the inventors of
deaf-mutes sign language, both had Portuguese-Jewish roots.|leftAmong other contributions Portuguese-Jews have made to France, one ought to mention the
Pereire brothers (Émile Pereire and Isaac Pereire) were among the most influential entrepreneurs in the 19th century,
Benjamin Olinde Rodrigues (famous for
Rodrigues' rotation formula),
Eugène Péreire (founder of
Banque Transatlantique),
Noémie de Rothschild (founder of Société Française des Hôtels de Montagne),
Catulle Mèndes,
Eugénie Foa,
Jacob Émile Édouard Péreira Brandon,
Pierre Mendès France,
Daniel Iffla and
Jules Carvallo (among the founders of the
Alliance Israélite Universelle). Notable Portuguese Jewish families in France include the , the and the . In particular, the Gradis family founded in the 17th century the Maison Gradis, which became the
Société française pour le commerce avec l'Outre-mer (SFCO), through which it played an important role in trade with the
French possessions in America. At the end of the 18th century, they had such control over the connections between France and the Caribbean that
Louis XVI offered to
ennoble them, an offer they rejected because it would have required them to take an oath on the
New Testament. In 1936, the Gradis were among the 200 wealthiest families in France.
19th century In the 19th century people from Portugal started emigrating again towards France. At the beginning the community was small and in the 1876 Census, the first mentioning the Portuguese, there were 1,237 members of the community. The growth of the community was slow, in a way that after the 1896 Census, numbering just 1,280 people, their numbers were discontinued from official French statistics.
20th century Portuguese expeditionary forces in France during the WWI of
Portuguese troops in France on the
Western Front, 1917–1918 In 1918, an avenue was named
avenue des Portugais (Portuguese Avenue) in Paris'
16th arrondissement It was previously known as
Avenue de Sofia (
Sofia Avenue). The name pays tribute to the
expeditionary forces sent by
Lisbon (which represented 80,000 men); the
kingdom of Bulgaria then ally of
Germany was thus "sanctioned": Sofia its capital thus seeing itself deprived of a Parisian route in its name. By order of 29 October 1971, a street in Sofia's honour (
rue de Sofia or Sofia street)was restored to the
18th arrondissement. With the expeditionary forces, some 22,000 Portuguese citizens came to France, among 600,000 foreign workers contracted for providing assistance to the
nation's military efforts.
Philippe Rygiel's research on Cher reveals that Portuguese were the most heavily impacted by expulsions and non-renewal of worker's
identity cards. Between 1957 and 1974 some 900,000 Portuguese citizens sought refuge in France, mostly workers from the peasantry and young people refusing to be
enrolled in the
army for the
colonial wars. Deserters were also very well received in
Algeria and in the Scandinavian countries. Leaders of the opposition to the
dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar, notable communists, also found refuge in France to escape arrest. Most of the leaders of the
Portuguese Communist Party were, however, banned from entering and staying in France, forcing them into hiding. During this period the Portuguese rapidly became the largest foreign community in France. The numbers skyrocketed and the community already numbered 700,000 members in 1970. Fleeing misery most of the Portuguese emigrants found unfavourable conditions upon arriving in France. For instance, it were mostly the Portuguese, who developed and inhabited what is supposed to be the largest
bidonville (or slum) ever emerged in France: up to 20,000 people lived in miserable conditions in
Champigny-sur-Marne, on the outskirts of Paris. Many of the immigrants in fact settled in slums in the Paris region, in unhealthy conditions of extreme poverty. Most of these people were
illiterate, peasants and villagers who employed themselves as unskilled laborers, cleaners or garbage collectors. The majority of the emigrants settled in the Parisian
banlieue, but, as time went by, many also resettled to other regions such as
Corsica or
Normandy. The phenomenon reached its peak in 1970, when in a single year 135,667 Portuguese left their homes for France. The French media tended to portray these immigrants as individuals with limited cultural knowledge and no political affiliation, typically associated with low-skilled jobs. Women are frequently depicted as gatekeepers, and men are often depicted as construction workers, perpetuating a stereotypical image that does not accurately reflect the diversity of their
professions and skills. From 1973, with the economic crisis ending the
Trente Glorieuses (or thirty glorious years), the
end of the dictatorship, the
instauration of democracy and the
end of the Colonial war, emigration to France fell sharply in the following decades.
Stable emigration (1975–2000) in
Bourgogne Following the
improvement of economic conditions in Portugal, there was a decrease in the number of Portuguese emigrants leaving their home country in search of better opportunities in France. This could be attributed to a decrease in economic hardship and an increase in job opportunities in Portugal, reducing the push factors driving emigration. Additionally, improved economic conditions may have resulted in more favorable living conditions, further reducing the incentive for Portuguese citizens to leave their homeland. It is in this period that Portuguese people started growing roots in France, acquiring French citizenship, and
integrating into society, reaching positions before unimaginable and starting to speak French. Between 1980 and 1999, 73,384 Portuguese emigrated to France, a country that nevertheless remained the favourite destination for emigration, even though Switzerland, Germany and the UK started attracting many Portuguese immigrants during this period as well.
A new "boom" (2000–2012) With the introduction of the
euro and the easing of movement throughout the EU, Portuguese national's interest towards France was renewed. From 2003 to 2012 approximately 120,000 Portuguese settled in France. The numbers soared after the
2008 recession that has greatly influenced Portugal (where the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 17.1%) in a way that some started referring to a "new boom" in emigration. As UK started gaining more attention in Portugal (where English had become the first foreign language, overtaking a position previously held by French) and as the economic conditions in Portugal become more favourable, the numbers soon dropped. The community is now highly integrated: between 2000 and 2012 over 102,000 Portuguese acquired French citizenship, thus accounting for approximately 5.7% of the citizenship granted during this period. and between 2018 and 2022 the community sent approximately 5.4 billion€ to Portugal in
remittances, thus confirming the prime role France has always had in sending remittances to Portugal, helping the country's growth and sustaining the family members living there.The migratory movement from Portugal to France remains quite strong, as between 2013 and 2020 a little over 87,500 Portuguese emigrated to France and, with approximately 22,000 acquisitions of
French citizenship, the Portuguese remain among the communities with the highest integration rate. Today there are around 1,000,000 people with dual French–Portuguese citizenship, so not counting as Portuguese citizens in French statistics, that number about 535,000 people in 2022. Despite the high naturalisation rate, the Portuguese remain one of the major foreign communities in France.
Relations between the two countries also remain strong and are based on mutual trust: both countries are EU and
NATO members and share the same currency. == Demographics ==