The state with the largest proportion of people identifying as having French ancestry is Maine, while the state with the largest number of people with French ancestry is California.

France founded colonies in much of eastern North America, on a number of Caribbean islands, and in South America. Most colonies were developed to export products such as fish, rice, sugar, and furs.

The reasons for the French Immigration to America were for a variety of reasons including religious and political persecution and natural disasters such as the potato blight that caused hunger and famine.

Of the total of 229,000 new foreigners coming to France in 2012, nearly 8% were Portuguese, British 5%, Spanish 5%, Italians 4%, Germans 4%, Romanians 3%, and Belgians 3%.

Migrants from Russia and other European Union countries like, Poland, Belgium, Romania, and Germany make up 13.2% of French immigrants. 10.4% of French immigrants can be traced back to Sub-Saharan Africa while Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey and southern Asia account for 28% of the immigrants in France.

6.5 million immigrants

The level of happiness among immigrants, in France, is of 6.352, placing France at the 29th rank among the top countries for immigrants.

According to the estimates of the French National Institute of statistics, France in 2008 had about 5 million people who trace their ancestry to Italian immigrants, and they account for the largest ethnic group in the country.

The reasons for migration to France are in the vast majority of cases mainly due to family or university studies. Issuance of residence permits for economic reasons was very much in the minority in 2019.

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As well as providing plenty of opportunities for travel and fun, the country is generally good for kids. HSBC’s Expat Explorer Survey 2018 found that 64% of expats said their children’s health and wellbeing was better in France.

– CON: Cost of transportation While there are many options for getting around France, they are not all cheap. The TGV, or high-speed train, going in and out of Paris is quite pricey. Toll roads throughout France are also expensive, with some roads and bridges costing more than 30 EUR for a single trip.

The best way to relocate is through your employer or through sponsorship from a family-member who already resides in France. Barring these options, contact your embassy in France to discuss your options. You’ll likely request a tourist visa to start, and then transition into a one-year permit.

Because as this post is going to explain, French is actually one of the easiest European languages to learn. In many ways, it’s even easier than learning English! And as French is a world language, spoken by over 220 million people, learning French can give you access to a huge chunk of the world.