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Famous people · Vannes, Morbihan

138 famous people were born in Vannes, more of them soldiers and sailors than in most towns

Alain Resnais, the French film director, is the most widely known, written about in 65 languages. Second and third on the list are Jean V de Bretagne and François Ier de Bretagne. 44 were born in 1970 or later. Between 1914 and 1969, 46 were born, the most of any period.

#1 best knownAlain ResnaisFilm, TV & Stage · 1922–2014
+134more
Born here
138
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Alain Resnais
65 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1389
Jean V de Bretagne
Youngest
2003
Antoine Praud
Most common field
Sports
35 people

What stands out about Vannes’ famous people

★ What stands out · The best known

Born in Vannes

Two of the three are leaders.

Alain Resnais#1
Film, TV & Stage

Alain Resnais

1922–2014

French film director (1922–2014)

65 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Jean V de Bretagne#2
Politics & Law

Jean V de Bretagne

1389–1442

Duke of Brittany, Count of Montfort (1389-1442)

27 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
François Ier de Bretagne#3
Politics & Law

François Ier de Bretagne

1414–1450

Duke of Brittany

25 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Known for

What Vannes is known for

Soldiers and sailors stand out most, at 1.8 times the usual share.

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

Through the years

When Vannes’ famous people were born

Count by decade and the 1960s come out on top, with 16 births.

Ancien RégimeRevolution to Empire1400150016001700180019002000François Ier de Bretagne
SportsPolitics & LawWriting & ArtsMilitaryFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicineNotableMusicFaithBusiness

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

Everyone

Everyone else born in Vannes

135 more, from 1663 to 2003.

Sylvain Marveaux

Sylvain Marveaux

born 1986

French footballer (born 1986)

HF

Hélène de Fougerolles

born 1973

French actress

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
Yves Coppens

Yves Coppens

1934–2022

French paleoanthropologist (1934–2022)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
SL

Serge Latouche

born 1940

French economist

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Benoît Vaugrenard

Benoît Vaugrenard

born 1982

Road racing cyclist

Paul César Helleu

Paul César Helleu

1859–1927

French portrait artist (1859-1927)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
FS

Frédéric Sammaritano

born 1986

French association football player

Mathieu Berson

Mathieu Berson

born 1980

French footballer (born 1980)

Yann Kermorgant

Yann Kermorgant

born 1981

French footballer (born 1981)

Adolphe Billault

Adolphe Billault

1805–1863

French politician (1805-1863)

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
BL

Bertrand Layec

born 1965

French football referee

FG

François Goulard

born 1953

French politician

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
BP

Bernard Poignant

born 1945

French politician

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
JA

Joseph Abeille

1673–1756

French architect and engineer

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Nolann Le Garrec

Nolann Le Garrec

born 2002

French rugby union player

YR

Yves Rocard

1903–1992

French physicist (1903-1992)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Anne Le Hénanff

Anne Le Hénanff

born 1969

French politician

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
OB

Olivier Baudry

1973–2017

French footballer (1973-2017)

Anaële Le Moguédec

Anaële Le Moguédec

born 2001

French footballer

Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

The neighbour with the most names is Arradon, at 3.

Questions about famous people from Vannes

Who is the most famous person from Vannes?

Alain Resnais (French film director (1922–2014)) is the best known by our measure: 65 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Jean V de Bretagne and François Ier de Bretagne.

How many famous people were born in Vannes?

138 people born in Vannes have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 208 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 Vannes known for?

Among its famous people, athletes: 35 of the 138. That is 25% of the town’s list, against 19% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Vannes?

Jean V de Bretagne, born in 1389. The youngest on the list was born in 2003.

Who counts as from Vannes?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Vannes 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 (68)

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.