#1Jules Breton
1827–1906French painter (1827-1906)
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
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.
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.
Births peak in the 1970s, with 3 people born in that decade.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Athletes take two of the three places.
#1French painter (1827-1906)
French association football player and manager
7 more, best known first.

French teacher, journalist and politician (1906-2004)
No one matches both filters.
8 towns around it have someone on record.
Hénin-Beaumont · 3 miMathieu Bauderlique & 15 moreBLMontigny-en-Gohelle · 2 miBernard Lech & 5 more
Noyelles-Godault · 3 miMaurice Thorez & 4 more
Oignies · 2 miGuy Drut & 3 moreHTFouquières-lès-Lens · 3 miHenri Tincq & 3 more
Carvin · 2 miJacques Secrétin & 2 moreJOBilly-Montigny · 3 miJean Ooghe & 2 moreASLibercourt · 3 miAlexandre Stassievitch & 2 moreJules 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.
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.
Among its famous people, athletes: 5 of the 10. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 19% across French towns.
Jules Breton, born in 1827. The youngest on the list was born in 1977.
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.
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).
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.