French Argentine
Encyclopedia
A French Argentine is an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 citizen of full or partial French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 ancestry. French Argentines form the third or fourth largest ancestry group after Italian Argentine
Italian Argentine
An Italian Argentine is a person born in Argentina of Italian ancestry. It is estimated up to 25 million Argentines have some degree of Italian descent...

s, Spanish Argentine
Spanish Argentine
Spanish settlement in Argentina, that is the arrival of Spanish emigrants in Argentina, took place firstly in the period before Argentina's independence from Spain, and again in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries...

s, and perhaps German Argentines. Between 1857 and 1946, 261,020 French people immigrated to Argentina.
Today around 6.8 million Argentines have some degree of French ancestry (up to 17% of the total population).

While Argentines of French descent make up a substantial percent of the Argentine population, they are less visible than other similarly-sized ethnic groups. This is due to the high degree of assimilation and the lack of substantial French colonies throughout the country.

French immigration to Argentina

During the first half of the 19th century, most of French immigrants to the New World were settling in the United States
French American
French Americans or Franco-Americans are Americans of French or French Canadian descent. About 11.8 million U.S. residents are of this descent, and about 1.6 million speak French at home.An additional 450,000 U.S...

 and in Uruguay
French Uruguayan
A French Uruguayan is an Uruguayan citizen of full or partial French ancestry. French Uruguayan form the third largest ancestry group after Spanish Uruguayans and Italian Uruguayans. Until 1853, France constituted the main source of immigrants to Uruguay...

. While the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 received 195,971 French immigrants between 1820 and 1855, only 13,922 Frenchmen, most of them from the Basque Country
Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country situated within the western part of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques constitutes the north-eastern part of the Basque Country....

 and Béarn
Béarn
Béarn is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre, and Labourd, the principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony, it forms in the...

, left for Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

 between 1833 and 1842. During this period of time, Uruguay received most of French immigrants to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 as the conflictual relationship between Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...

 and the French government had created a xenophobic climate against French immigrants in the Buenos Aires province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...

. After the fall of Rosas in 1852, Argentina overtook Uruguay and became the main pole of attraction for French immigrants in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

.

From the second half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 received the second largest group of French immigrants worldwide, second only to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Between 1857 and 1946 Argentina received 239,503 French immigrants - out of which 105,537 permanently settled in the country. Until 1976, 116,032 settled in Argentina. French immigration to Argentina can be divided in three periods. France was the third source of immigration to Argentina before 1890, constituting over 10% of immigrants, only surpassed by Italians
Italian Argentine
An Italian Argentine is a person born in Argentina of Italian ancestry. It is estimated up to 25 million Argentines have some degree of Italian descent...

 and Spaniards
Spanish Argentine
Spanish settlement in Argentina, that is the arrival of Spanish emigrants in Argentina, took place firstly in the period before Argentina's independence from Spain, and again in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries...

. From 1890 to 1914, immigration from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, although reduced, still was significative. After WWI, the flow of French immigrants was minimal and only grew after WWII to finally dry up in the 1950s.

In 1810, Buenos Aires had a population of 28,528 inhabitants, including 13 French citizens. In 1839, it was estimated that 4,000 Frenchmen were living in the province of Buenos Aires, this figure increased to 12,000 in 1842. From the next decade, French started to settle in Argentina in large numbers.

During the first period (1850–1890), French immigration is similar, in numbers and in features, to those of Italians
Italian Argentine
An Italian Argentine is a person born in Argentina of Italian ancestry. It is estimated up to 25 million Argentines have some degree of Italian descent...

 and Spaniards
Spanish Argentine
Spanish settlement in Argentina, that is the arrival of Spanish emigrants in Argentina, took place firstly in the period before Argentina's independence from Spain, and again in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries...

. It belongs to a larger movement of emigration of Basque people, from both sides of the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...

. Until 1852, most of French immigrants to the Río de la Plata were settling in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

. French formed the largest group of immigrants to Argentina until 1854. The country received 1,484 French immigrants in 1856, Frenchmen still were the second most important immigrant group after Italians. The number of French immigrants present in the Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...

 reached 25,000 in 1859. In 1861, 29,196 Frenchmen were registered in Argentina, including 14,180 living in the city of Buenos Aires where they represented the third largest foreign community and made up 7.5% of the population. In 1869, at the time of the first national census, 32,383 Frenchmen lived in the country, or about 1.7% of the total population. Immigration from France increased dramatically in the first half of the 1870s (with a peak in 1873) and in the second half of the 1890s (61,382 immigrants in a three-year period). The last rise in figures is due to a politic conducted by the Argentine government in order to reduce the increasing importance of Italian immigration
Italian Argentine
An Italian Argentine is a person born in Argentina of Italian ancestry. It is estimated up to 25 million Argentines have some degree of Italian descent...

, for that purpose 132,000 free travel tickets were distributed in Europe between 1888 and 1890, 45,000 out of them were given in France. In 1887, there were 20,031 Frenchmen living in Buenos Aires, 4.6% of the 433,421 inhabitants.

During the second stage (from 1890 to 1914), French immigration is more similar to those of Germans and Britons, and is characterized by a reduced net migration rate, with the exception of the year 1912 when immigration raised as a result of propaganda led by the Argentine government in Southern France
Southern France
Southern France , colloquially known as le Midi is defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Gironde, Spain, the Mediterranean, and Italy...

 to fill in the gap caused by the prohibition of emigration from Italy to Argentina in 1911. In 1895, after the largest wave of French immigrants had settled in Argentina, they were 94,098, i.e. 2.3% of the total population (33,185 of them were living in the city of Buenos Aires where they represented the third largest foreign community and made up 4.9% of the population). Only the United States had a higher number of French expatriates, with over one hundred Frenchmen having immigrated there. At the turn of the century figures started to decrease as immigration from France declined and previously established immigrants merged within the population. It was estimated that 100,000 Frenchmen were living in Argentina in 1912, 67% of the 149,400 Frenchmen living in Latin America and the second largest community worldwide after the United States (125,000). In 1914, 79,491 Frenchmen were registered, accounting for 1% of the Argentine population.

As a consequence of this evolution, French immigrants represented 5% of the flow of immigrants to Argentina until the 1870s, reaching its maximum (around 12% of immigrants) in the 1870s-1880s, decreasing to 4% at the end of the century and only represented 1% of immigrants in the 1920s. The year 1890 then points out the end of the most significant step of French immigration to Argentina, a rather paradoxical migratory process: important until this date, it becomes minoritary when the phenomenon of mass-immigration to Argentina starts.

The flow decreased dramatically during WWI. After 1918, French immigrants to Argentina numbered 1,500 per year and had a slightly positive net migration rate. The flow of French immigrants then gradually dried up. In the 1960s, around 4,000 Pieds-Noirs immigrated to Argentina from the newly-independent Algeria, they constituted the last large migration from France to Argentina.

Half of French immigrants until the second half of the 20th century came from southwestern France, especially from the Basque Country
Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country situated within the western part of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques constitutes the north-eastern part of the Basque Country....

, Béarn
Béarn
Béarn is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre, and Labourd, the principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony, it forms in the...

 (Basses-Pyrénées
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques is a department in the southwest of France which takes its name from the Pyrenees mountains and the Atlantic Ocean.- History :...

 accounted for more than 20% of immigrants), Bigorre
Bigorre
Bigorre is region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region known as Gascony...

 and Rouergue
Rouergue
Rouergue is a former province of France, bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan and on the west by Quercy...

. Other important groups came from Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....

 and the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 region. It was estimated that at least 70% of French immigrants in Tandil were coming from the Southwestern part of the country and that half of them were of Basque stock. Until the 1880s, the great majority of French immigrants to Argentina were from the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...

. Basques started settling in Argentina in the 1830s, then they began heading towards Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in the 1870s.

Today it is estimated that up to 17% of Argentines have partial French ancestry. French Argentines formed a large portion of the elite of the country. In 1959 it was estimated that 7% of the upper-class of Buenos Aires was of French background, their ancestors having settled in the country between 1840 and 1880.

While found throughout the country, they are most numerous in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...

, Santa Fe
Santa Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...

, Entre Ríos
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos is a northeastern province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires , Corrientes and Santa Fe , and Uruguay in the east....

, Córdoba
Córdoba Province (Argentina)
Córdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are : Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca...

, Mendoza
Mendoza Province
The Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...

 and Tucumán
Tucumán Province
Tucumán is the most densely populated, and the smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the capital is San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neighboring provinces are, clockwise from the north: Salta, Santiago del Estero and...

 provinces. According to the national census of 1895, 37.3% of Frenchmen settled in Argentina lived in the province of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...

, 35.2% in the city of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, 10.9% in Santa Fe
Santa Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...

 and 5.1% in Entre Ríos
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos is a northeastern province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires , Corrientes and Santa Fe , and Uruguay in the east....

. In the Buenos Aires province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...

, they mostly settled south of a line uniting the partidos of Tandil
Tandil Partido
Tandil Partido is a partido of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 108,000 inhabitants in an area of 4,935 km², and its capital city is Tandil, which is located around 350 km from Buenos Aires....

 and Azul
Azul Partido
Azul is a central partido of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of 62,996 inhabitants in an area of 6,615 km² , and its capital city is Azul, which is located around 298 km  from Buenos Aires.The province was founded on December 16,...

, their presence being particularly noticeable in the town of Pigüé
Pigüé
Pigüé is a town in Argentina located in the Pampas, south-west of Buenos Aires. It was founded by 165 Occitan-speaking French immigrants from Aveyron and one Argentine of direct Irish descent on December 4, 1884. The urban population is now 13,822 and has increased by 9.5% since the 1991 census...

.
As of 2010, almost 15,000 French citizens are living in Argentina, the community may be higher though.

French colonies in Argentina

In 1857, an immigrant from Béarn
Béarn
Béarn is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre, and Labourd, the principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony, it forms in the...

, Alejo Peyret
Alejo Peyret
Alejo Peyret was a French-born Argentine writer, agronomist, colonial administrator, and historian...

, founded the first farming colony in Entre Ríos
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos is a northeastern province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires , Corrientes and Santa Fe , and Uruguay in the east....

, San José
San José, Entre Ríos
San José is a city in the center-east of the province of Entre Ríos, Argentina, located some 10 km northwest from Colón, near the Uruguay River. It has about 15,000 inhabitants as per the ....

. In 1864, out of 380 families living in San José, 125 were from Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....

.

The town of Pigüé
Pigüé
Pigüé is a town in Argentina located in the Pampas, south-west of Buenos Aires. It was founded by 165 Occitan-speaking French immigrants from Aveyron and one Argentine of direct Irish descent on December 4, 1884. The urban population is now 13,822 and has increased by 9.5% since the 1991 census...

, founded by 165 Occitan-speaking French immigrants from Rouergue
Rouergue
Rouergue is a former province of France, bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan and on the west by Quercy...

 in 1884, is considered a focal center of French culture in Argentina. It is estimated that 30% to 40% of Pigüé's modern inhabitants can trace their roots to Aveyron
Aveyron
Aveyron is a département in southern France named after the Aveyron River.- History :Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790....

 and they still speak Occitan.

According to the 1869 census, a quarter of immigrants to the province of Mendoza
Mendoza Province
The Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...

 were from France. In 1895, they made up 15% of immigrants of the province, right after Italians and Spaniards (26.1% and 17.3% respectively). Frenchmen were particularly numerous in the wine-producing departments of Maipú
Maipú Department, Mendoza
Maipú Department is a department and municipality located in the north west of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The department covers 617 km² and a population of 153,600 ; its capital is Maipú....

, Luján
Luján de Cuyo Department
Luján de Cuyo is a department located in the northwest of Mendoza Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 104,000 inhabitants in an area of 4,847km², and its capital city is Luján de Cuyo, which is located around 1,107km from Capital...

 and in the French colony of San Rafael
San Rafael, Mendoza
San Rafael is a city in the southern region of the Mendoza Province, Argentina. With more than 170,000 inhabitants , it is the largest city and the seat of San Rafael Department....

, founded by engineer Julio Gerónimo Balloffet.

In 1904, the governor of Tucumán
Tucumán Province
Tucumán is the most densely populated, and the smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the capital is San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neighboring provinces are, clockwise from the north: Salta, Santiago del Estero and...

 founded a town carrying his name, Villa Nougués
Villa Nougués
Villa Nougués is a settlement in Lules Department, Tucumán Province, in northern Argentina.-Overview:Situated along the eastern face of San Javier Hill, at 1,350 m , the settlement was established where a Jesuit reduction operated until the order's suppression in 1767...

, as a replica of Boutx
Boutx
Boutx is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...

 in Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city is Toulouse.-History:Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc.The...

, a French village where his family traces its roots back to.

Legacy

French immigration has left a significant mark on Argentina, with a notable influence on the arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....

, culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

 and society of the country. In particular, many emblematic buildings in cities like Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, Rosario
Rosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....

, and Córdoba
Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...

 were built following French Beaux Arts and neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

 styles, such as the Argentine National Congress
National Congress
-Parties:*Ethiopia - Oromo National Congress*India - Indian National Congress*Guyana - People's National Congress*Papua New Guinea - People's National Congress Party*South Africa - African National Congress*Sudan - National Congress...

, the Metropolitan Cathedral
Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral
The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral is the main Catholic church in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the city center, overlooking Plaza de Mayo, on the corner of San Martín and Rivadavia streets, in the San Nicolás neighbourhood...

, or the Central Bank
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...

 building. In particular, landscape architect
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....

 Carlos Thays
Carlos Thays
Carlos Thays was a French-Argentine landscape architect, and a student of French landscape architect Édouard André.-Biography:...

, in his position as 1891 Director of Parks and Walkways, is largely responsible for planting thousands of trees, creating the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden
Buenos Aires Botanical Garden
The Buenos Aires Botanical Garden is located in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires in Argentina. The garden is triangular in shape, and is bounded by Sante Fé Avenue, Las Heras Avenue and República Árabe Siria Street...

 and giving the city much of its parks and plazas that are sometimes compared to similar designs in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

.

Important contributions to the arts include the works of Eugène Py
Eugène Py
Eugène Py was a major early French cameraman, cinematographer and film director and is widely considered the founding pioneer of the Cinema of Argentina....

, considered the founding pioneer of Argentine cinema, as well as the development of new literary genres by writers like Paul Groussac
Paul Groussac
Paul-François Groussac was a French-born Argentine writer, literary critic, historian, and librarian. He was born in Toulouse to Catherine Deval and Pierre Groussac, the scion of an old Languedocian family.-Biography:...

 or Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar
Julio Cortázar, born Jules Florencio Cortázar, was an Argentine writer. Cortázar, known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, influenced an entire generation of Spanish speaking readers and writers in the Americas and Europe.-Early life:Cortázar's parents, Julio José Cortázar and...

. In the field of science, two Argentine Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

 laurates were of French descent, Bernardo Houssay
Bernardo Houssay
-External links:* * . WhoNamedIt.* . Nobel Foundation....

, 1947 laurate in Medicine, and Luis Federico Leloir
Luis Federico Leloir
Luis Federico Leloir was an Argentine doctor and biochemist who received the 1970 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was the first Spanish-speaking scientist to ever receive the award...

, 1970 laurate in Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

.

Lunfardo

Lunfardo
Lunfardo
Lunfardo is a dialect originated and developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the lower classes in Buenos Aires and the surrounding Gran Buenos Aires, and from there spread to other cities nearby, such as Rosario and Montevideo, cities with similar socio-cultural situations...

 is an argot of the Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 which appeared in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

 at the end of the 19th century. It integrated a lot of words and expressions from languages and dialects spoken by immigrants, notably Italians, Spaniards and French. Lunfardo
Lunfardo
Lunfardo is a dialect originated and developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the lower classes in Buenos Aires and the surrounding Gran Buenos Aires, and from there spread to other cities nearby, such as Rosario and Montevideo, cities with similar socio-cultural situations...

 was heavily used in tango
Tango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...

 lyrics. After 1912, as tango became popular in Paris, French expressions were incorporated into tango lyrics and made their way into lunfardo
Lunfardo
Lunfardo is a dialect originated and developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the lower classes in Buenos Aires and the surrounding Gran Buenos Aires, and from there spread to other cities nearby, such as Rosario and Montevideo, cities with similar socio-cultural situations...

. It has now become an integral part of the Spanish spoken in Argentina and some of these words are still used on a daily basis.

Examples

  • Beguén - Crush (from the French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

     béguin -crush-)
  • Bulín - Digs (from the French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

     boulin -hole in the wall of a dolecote where the pigeons nest-)
  • Buyón - Food (from the French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

     bouillon -broth-)
  • Calotear - To steal (from the French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

     calotter -to steal-)
  • Dragonear - To flirt (from the French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

     draguer -to flirt-)
  • Fané - Worn out (from the French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

     fané -wilthered-)
  • Franelear - To caress, to heavy pet (from the French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

     faire flanelle -to go to a whorehouse without making use of any woman-)
  • Macro - Pimp (from the French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

     maquereau -pimp-)
  • Marote - Head (from the French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

     marotte -hatstand-)
  • Morfar - To eat (from the French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

     morfer -to eat-)
  • Ragú - Hunger (from the French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

     ragoût -stew-)
  • Toilette - Bathroom (from the French
    French language
    French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

     toilettes -bathroom-)

Buenos Aires Province

  • Ángel Etcheverry, named after a provincial Minister of Public Works of French ancestry.
  • Bellocq, named after the Bellocq family which donated lands to build the village.
  • Berdier, named after the Berdier family, former owner of the land.
  • Bordenave
  • Boulogne Sur Mer
    Boulogne Sur Mer
    Boulogne Sur Mer is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is in San Isidro Partido and forms part of the Greater Buenos Aires urban conurbation, 16 km  north of Buenos Aires. It has a population of 73,496...

    , named after the French city where San Martín
    José de San Martín
    José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...

     died.
  • Cadret, named after the Cadret family.
  • Carlos Beguerie
  • Daireaux
    Daireaux
    Daireaux is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Daireaux Partido.-External links:...

    , named after Emilio Daireaux, former owner of the land.
  • D'Orbigny, named after French naturalist Alcide d'Orbigny.
  • Dudignac, named after Ezequiel Dudignac, former owner of the land.
  • Dufaur
  • Gardey, named after Juan Gardey of Bearnese ancestry.
  • Grand Bourg
    Grand Bourg
    Grand Bourg is a town in Malvinas Argentinas Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It forms part of the Greater Buenos Aires agglomeration.- Toponymy :...

  • Ingeniero Adolfo Sourdeaux
    Ingeniero Adolfo Sourdeaux
    Ingeniero Adolfo Sourdeaux is a town in Malvinas Argentinas Partido of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is located in the north west of the Greater Buenos Aires urban agglomeration.- Name :...

  • Juan Cousté
  • Lanús
    Lanús
    Lanús is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The city has a population of 212,152 , and the Partido de Lanús has a total population of 453,500.A major industrial centre,...

  • Laplacette
  • Lartigau
  • Longchamps
  • Louge
  • Manuel B. Gonnet
    Manuel B. Gonnet
    Manuel B. Gonnet is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, in La Plata Partido, from La Plata, the provincial capital. It is part of a group of towns developed around the then Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway connecting La Plata with Buenos Aires, and Tolosa, Ringuelet, City Bell and...

  • Pasteur
  • Pontaut
    Pontaut
    Pontaut is a town located in the General Lamadrid Partido in the central region of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina, 57 km south from the headcity. Its population is less than 100....

  • Pueblo Gouin
  • Ringuelet
  • Rondeau
  • San Francisco de Bellocq
  • Sevigne
  • Solanet, Ayacucho
  • Sourigues
  • Udaquiola, Ayacucho
  • Villa Alfredo Fortabat
  • Villa Bordeau
  • Villa Durcudoy (Diecisiete de Agosto)
  • Villa Francia
  • Villa General Fournier
  • Villa Saboya, colony founded by Manuel Cadret, an immigrant from Savoy
    Savoy
    Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....

    .
  • Villa Sauze

Córdoba Province

  • Buchardo
  • Charbonier
  • Colonia Vignaud
  • Dumesnil
  • Laborde
  • Laboulaye
    Laboulaye, Córdoba
    Laboulaye is a city in the southeast of the province of Córdoba, Argentina. It has 19,908 inhabitants as per the . It lies on National Route 7, near the provincial borders of Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, about 315 km south from Córdoba City and 285 km west from Rosario....

  • La Francia

Entre Ríos Province

  • Colonia Merou
  • Larroque
  • Pueblo Bellocq
  • Pueblo Cazes

La Pampa Province

  • Bernardo Larroudé
  • Eduardo Castex
  • Gobernador Duval
  • Maisonnave

Misiones Province

  • Bonpland
  • Hipólito Yrigoyen
  • Santiago de Liniers

Santa Cruz Province

  • Hipólito Yrigoyen
  • Julia Dufour
  • Tellier

Santa Fe Province

  • Bigand
  • Bouquet
    Bouquet, Santa Fe
    Bouquet is a town in Belgrano Department, in Santa Fe Province, Argentina. It lays at from the provincial capital Santa FeIn 1908 the federal government established the law that authorized the construction of a railway line from Las Rosas to Bouquet...

  • Chapuy
  • Chovet
  • Colonia Bigand
  • Labordeboy

Figures

Yearly French immigration to Argentina from 1857 to 1897
Year French immigrants Total immigrants % French immigrants
1857 276 4,951 5.6%
1858 193 4,658 4.1%
1859 251 4,735 5.3%
1860 385 5,656 6.8%
1861 148 6,301 2.3%
1862 203 6,716 3%
1863 397 10,408 3.8%
1864 426 11,682 3.6%
1865 513 11,797 4.3%
1866 609 13,696 4.4%
1867 991 13,225 7.5%
1868 1,223 25,919 4.7%
1869 1,465 28,958 5%
1870 2,396 30,898 7.7%
1871 1,988 14,621 13.6%
1872 4,602 26,208 17.6%
1873 7,431 48,382 15.4%
1874 5,654 40,674 13.9%
1875 2,633 18,532 14.2%
1876 2,064 14,532 14.2%
1877 1,996 14,675 13.6%
1878 2,025 23,624 8.6%
1879 2,149 32,717 6.6%
1880 2,175 26,643 8.2%
1881 3,612 31,431 11.5%
1882 3,382 41,041 8.3%
1883 4,286 52,472 8.2%
1884 4,731 49,623 9.5%
1885 4,752 80,618 5.9%
1886 4,662 65,655 7.1%
1887 7,036 98,898 7.1%
1888 17,105 130,271 13.1%
1889 27,173 218,744 12.4%
1890 17,104 77,815 22%
1891 2,915 28,266 10.3%
1892 2,115 39,973 5.3%
1893 2,612 52,067 5%
1894 7,107 54,720 13%
1895 2,448 61,226 4%
1896 3,486 102,673 3.4%
1897 2,835 72,978 3.9%
Total 154,554 1,698,654 9.1%

French immigrants to Argentina from 1857 to 1909
Year period French immigrants Total immigrants % French immigrants
1857–1870 2,789 178,883 1.6%
1871–1890 126,560 1,107,201 11.4%
1891–1909 56,400 2,086,339 2.7%
Total 185,749 3,372,423 5.5%

French immigration to Argentina from 1857 to 1924
Entrances Departures Balance
226,894 120,258 106,623

French immigrants to Argentina from 1915 to 1953
Year period French immigrants
1915–1920 9,800
1921–1930 13,000
1931–1935 5,200
1936–1939 7,800
1944–1948 2,700
1949–1953 3,300

French immigration to Argentina from 1857 to 1946
Entrances Departures Balance
239,503 133,966 105,537

French net migration to Argentina from 1857 to 1976
Year period French immigrants
1857–1860 578
1861–1870 4,292
1871–1880 10,706
1881–1890 69,363
1891–1900 11,395
1901–1910 11,862
1911–1920 -1,352
1921–1930 739
1931–1940 626
1941–1950 5,538
1951–1960 934
1961–1970 1,266
1971–1976 85
Total 116,032

See also

  • List of French Argentines
  • French Canadian
    French Canadian
    French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...

  • French diaspora
    French diaspora
    The French diaspora consists of French emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United States, Canada and Latin America. Although less important than other European countries, immigration from France was numerous from the start of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century...

  • French American
    French American
    French Americans or Franco-Americans are Americans of French or French Canadian descent. About 11.8 million U.S. residents are of this descent, and about 1.6 million speak French at home.An additional 450,000 U.S...

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