French New Zealanders are New Zealanders who are of French ancestors or a French-born person who resides in New Zealand.

Quick Facts Total population, Regions with significant populations ...
French New Zealanders
Franco-Néo-Zélandais
Total population
7,677 (born in France, 2018)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Auckland
Wellington
Canterbury
Languages
New Zealand English · French
Religion
Christianity (mainly Roman Catholicism) · Judaism
Related ethnic groups
French AustraliansFrench British
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The French were among the earlier European settlers in New Zealand, and established a colony at Akaroa in the South Island.[2]

Captain Jean-François-Marie de Surville is the first known Frenchman to have visited New Zealand,[3] in 1769, and by the 1830s, French whalers were operating off the Banks Peninsula.[3][4]

French missionaries and priests also had a significant effect on Catholicism in New Zealand. In 1835, Jean-Baptiste Pompallier was the first bishop of any denomination in New Zealand and was known to be sympathetic to Māori interests at the time.[5] Suzanne Aubert came to New Zealand from France in 1860, and founded the Sisters of Compassion in 1892, a religious order of nuns. The cause for her canonization is ongoing,[6] meaning she may become New Zealand's first saint.

Religion

More information Religion, Percentage of the French population in New Zealand ...
Religion Percentage of the French population in New Zealand
Catholic 26.2%
Christian (not further defined) 3.9%
Anglican 3.0%
No religion 50.1%
Object to answering 7.1%
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Source: 2013 Census[7]

See also

References

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