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Famous people · Courrières, Pas-de-Calais

Of the 10 famous people born in Courrières, an unusual share are athletes

At the top of the list is the French painter Jules Breton, covered in 36 languages. Between 1914 and 1969, 4 were born, the most of any period. Per head, the list is long: 9.8 for every 10,000 residents, where the typical town in Pas-de-Calais has 2.3. The earliest on the list is Jules Breton, born in 1827, and the youngest Ali Oubaali, born in 1977.

#1 best knownJules BretonWriting & Arts · 1827–1906
+8more
Born here
10
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Jules Breton
36 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1827
Jules Breton
Youngest
1977
Ali Oubaali
Most common field
Sports
5 people

What stands out about Courrières’ famous people

★ What stands out · Known for

What Courrières is known for

The field furthest above the usual share is athletes, at 2.6 times.

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

Through the years

When Courrières’ famous people were born

Births peak in the 1970s, with 3 people born in that decade.

Revolution to EmpireBelle ÉpoqueThe 20th centuryToday1850190019502000Djamel AinaouiCamille DelabreJules Breton
SportsWriting & ArtsPolitics & LawScience & Medicine

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

The best known

Born in Courrières

Athletes take two of the three places.

Jules Breton#1
Writing & Arts

Jules Breton

1827–1906

French painter (1827-1906)

36 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
CP#2
Sports

Catherine Plewinski

born 1968

French swimmer

15 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
ÉS#3
Sports

Éric Sikora

born 1968

French association football player and manager

11 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Everyone

Everyone else born in Courrières

7 more, best known first.

DA

Djamel Ainaoui

born 1975

French amateur wrestler

Camille Delabre

Camille Delabre

1906–2004

French teacher, journalist and politician (1906-2004)

Science & MedicineWikipedia (French) ↗
Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

8 towns around it have someone on record.

Questions about famous people from Courrières

Who is the most famous person from Courrières?

Jules Breton (French painter (1827-1906)) is the best known by our measure: 36 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Catherine Plewinski and Éric Sikora.

How many famous people were born in Courrières?

10 people born in Courrières have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 14 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 Courrières known for?

Among its famous people, athletes: 5 of the 10. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 19% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Courrières?

Jules Breton, born in 1827. The youngest on the list was born in 1977.

Who counts as from Courrières?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Courrières 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 (6)

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.