#1Famous people · Belley, Ain
Of the 33 famous people born in Belley, an unusual share are soldiers and sailors
Sandrine Bailly, the French biathlete, is the most widely known, written about in 28 languages. The French biathlete Simon Desthieux ranks second, ahead of Cédric Burdet. Only one town in Ain lists more. The first birth on record is César de Rochefort’s, in 1630, and the last Simon Desthieux’s, in 1991.
Born here
33
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Sandrine Bailly
28 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1630
César de Rochefort
Youngest
1991
Simon Desthieux
Most common field
Politics & Law
14 people
What stands out about Belley’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Belley is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as soldiers and sailors, at 2.9 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Belley’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1980s, with 5 people born in that decade.
Politics & LawSportsNotableMilitaryWriting & Arts
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Belley
Sandrine Bailly leads with articles in 28 languages, ahead of Simon Desthieux (22) and Cédric Burdet (19).
#1
#2
#3Everyone
Everyone else born in Belley
Another 30, the earliest born in 1630.
César de Rochefort
1630–1690French jurist, lexicographer and essayist
Politics & LawWikipedia (French) ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Aix-les-Bains has the longest list next door: 50.
Aix-les-Bains · 12 miHervé Renard & 49 moreCPYenne · 5 miCharles-Bernard Pellegrini & 1 more
Culoz-Béon · 8 miLéon Serpollet & 1 moreJRLes Avenières Veyrins-Thuellin · 10 miJoseph de RevolMMSaint-Genix-les-Villages · 11 miMaurice Michaud
Tresserve · 12 miGeorges ParentABGrésy-sur-Aix · 12 miAntoine Philibert Albert BaillyQuestions about famous people from Belley
Who is the most famous person from Belley?
Sandrine Bailly (French biathlete) is the best known by our measure: 28 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Simon Desthieux and Cédric Burdet.
How many famous people were born in Belley?
33 people born in Belley have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 42 people here; the rest aren’t listed because an article names somewhere else or no town, or a check couldn’t be completed.
What is Belley known for?
Among its famous people, leaders: 14 of the 33. That is 42% of the town’s list, against 24% across French towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Belley?
César de Rochefort, born in 1630. The youngest on the list was born in 1991.
Who counts as from Belley?
People whose Wikidata birthplace is Belley itself, matched by its INSEE code (a commune merged into it counts when the dates allow), whose French Wikipedia article agrees, and their English article too when they have one. A hospital or neighbourhood recorded without its commune isn’t matched. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a hospital, a neighbourhood or a wider area, another commune, or missing, or their articles may not name a birthplace. We only list people the sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations, how many Wikipedia and sister-site articles cover each person) and French and English Wikipedia (each person’s articles confirm the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are matched to the commune by INSEE code and its history of mergers (INSEE COG 2026). Ranked by the number of articles. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across French towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the license below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (19)
- Sandrine Bailly: Götz A. Primke from Muenchen, Germany Cropped by Fschoenm, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Simon Desthieux: Miceman, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cédric Burdet: Kuebi = Armin Kübelbeck, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Didier Ollé-Nicolle: Flo63~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Millon: William_S._Cohen_-_Charles_Millon.jpg : DoD, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Andrée Martinerie: Laurent Jurgensen, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cécile Untermaier: LeCardinal, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Louis Grégori: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mireille Clapot: Raphaële Declerck, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Auguste Hugonnier: From La voix du peuple, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Anthelme Collet: A.Garnier, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Benoît Prosper Sibuet: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- César de Rochefort: Mathieu Ogier, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Chaley: Inconnu / Assemblée nationale, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Luc Roselli-Mollet: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Stéphane Lorenzo: Titiman7311, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hervé Renard: Кирилл Венедиктов, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Léon Serpollet: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Georges Parent: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.