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Famous people · Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône

Jeanne Calment tops a list of 104 famous people born in Arles

Jeanne Calment is the best known, with articles in 74 languages. Among the 76 towns in Bouches-du-Rhône with famous people on record, the town ranks 3rd. The largest group, 38, was born since 1970. The biggest group are athletes: 27.

#1 best knownJeanne CalmentNotable · 1875–1997
+100more
Born here
104
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Jeanne Calment
74 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
316
Constantin II
Youngest
2006
Rémi Daumas
Most common field
Sports
27 people

What stands out about Arles’ famous people

★ What stands out · The best known

Born in Arles

First, Jeanne Calment (74 languages), then Constantin II (68) and Djibril Cissé (54).

Jeanne Calment#1
Notable

Jeanne Calment

1875–1997

French supercentenarian, person with the longest confirmed lifespan (1875–1997)

74 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Constantin II#2
Politics & Law

Constantin II

316–340

Roman emperor (316-340)

68 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Djibril Cissé#3
Sports

Djibril Cissé

born 1981

French footballer (born 1981)

54 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Through the years

When Arles’ famous people were born

The busiest decade was the 1980s, with 21 births.

Ancien Régime30040050060070080090010001100120013001400150016001700180019002000Djibril CisséConstantin II
SportsWriting & ArtsPolitics & LawNotableScience & MedicineFilm, TV & StageMusicMilitaryFaith

Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.

Known for

What Arles is known for

Arles has 1.4× the usual share of athletes.

The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.

Everyone

Everyone else born in Arles

Still to come: 101 more, from 1286 to 2006.

Serhou Guirassy

Serhou Guirassy

born 1996

Guinean-French footballer (born 1996)

Gaël Givet

Gaël Givet

born 1981

French footballer (born 1981)

Christian Lacroix

Christian Lacroix

born 1951

French fashion and theater designer (born 1951)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
LP

Lloyd Palun

born 1988

French-Gabonese footballer

FC

Fabien Camus

born 1985

Tunisian and French association football player

Lucien Clergue

Lucien Clergue

1934–2014

French photographer (1934-2014)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
FV

Fanny Valette

born 1986

French actress

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
TB

Trophime Bigot

1579–1650

French painter (1579–1650)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
KK

Kalonymus ben Kalonymus

1286–1328

French poet

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
AS

Alexandre Savérien

1720–1805

French mathematician

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Henri Guaino

Henri Guaino

born 1957

French speechwriter

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
PD

Pierre-Antoine d'Antonelle

1747–1817

French republican and journalist (1747-1817)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
FP

Ferdinand Payan

1870–1961

Road bicycle racer (1870-1961)

Jean-Baptiste Gros

Jean-Baptiste Gros

born 1999

French rugby union player

Patricia Caro Maya

Patricia Caro Maya

born 1982

Psychologist and feminist activist

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
RE

René Exbrayat

1947–2023

French footballer (1947–2023)

JR

Jean-Maurice Rouquette

1931–2019

French historian (1931–2019)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

6 towns around it have someone on record.

Questions about famous people from Arles

Who is the most famous person from Arles?

Jeanne Calment (French supercentenarian, person with the longest confirmed lifespan (1875–1997)) is the best known by our measure: 74 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Constantin II and Djibril Cissé.

How many famous people were born in Arles?

104 people born in Arles have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 191 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 Arles known for?

Among its famous people, athletes: 27 of the 104. That is 26% of the town’s list, against 19% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Arles?

Constantin II, born in 316. The youngest on the list was born in 2006.

Who counts as from Arles?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Arles 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 (38)

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.