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Famous people · Pontoise, Val-d'Oise

72 famous people were born in Pontoise, more of them athletes than in most towns

Nicolas Flamel, the French scrivener, is the most widely known, written about in 50 languages. Among the 73 towns in Val-d'Oise with famous people on record, the town ranks 2nd. Since 1970, 32 were born, the most of any period. The first birth on record is Nicolas Flamel’s, in 1335, and the last Djibril Coulibaly’s, in 2008.

#1 best knownNicolas FlamelNotable · 1335–1418
+68more
Born here
72
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Nicolas Flamel
50 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1335
Nicolas Flamel
Youngest
2008
Djibril Coulibaly
Most common field
Sports
25 people

What stands out about Pontoise’s famous people

★ What stands out · The best known

Born in Pontoise

Ranked by languages covered: Nicolas Flamel with 50, then Philippe II de Bourgogne with 48 and Céline Sciamma with 40.

Nicolas Flamel#1
Notable

Nicolas Flamel

1335–1418

French scrivener

50 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Philippe II de Bourgogne#2
Politics & Law

Philippe II de Bourgogne

1342–1404

Duke of Burgundy (1342-1404)

48 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
CS#3
Film, TV & Stage

Céline Sciamma

born 1978

French director and screenwriter (born 1978)

40 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Known for

What Pontoise is known for

Pontoise has 1.8× the usual share of athletes.

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

Through the years

When Pontoise’s famous people were born

More of them were born in the 1990s than in any other ten years, 16 in all.

Ancien RégimeRevolution to Empire1400150016001700180019002000Céline SciammaJean-Éric VergnePhilippe II de Bourgogne
SportsWriting & ArtsFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicinePolitics & LawMusicNotableMilitaryBusinessFaith

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

Everyone

Everyone else born in Pontoise

The other 69 span the years 1564 to 2008.

JV

Jean-Éric Vergne

born 1990

French racing driver (Son Of Daniel Ricciardo in STR Ferrari)

MD

Moussa Dembélé

born 1996

French footballer (born 1996)

Amine Harit

Amine Harit

born 1997

Moroccan and French footballer

Charles Victoire Emmanuel Leclerc

Charles Victoire Emmanuel Leclerc

1772–1802

French general (1772-1802)

Jacques Vallée

Jacques Vallée

born 1939

Computer Scientist, UFO researcher

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Édouard-Alfred Martel

Édouard-Alfred Martel

1859–1938

French cave explorer (1859–1938)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
JG

Joseph de Guignes

1721–1800

French academic

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
DS

Dominique Simon

born 2000

Haitian-French association football player

NN

Niels Nkounkou

born 2000

French footballer (born 2000)

SC

Senou Coulibaly

born 1994

Malian and French association football player

YQ

Yacine Qasmi

born 1991

Moroccan and French footballer

AK

Aboubakary Kanté

born 1994

French and Gambian association football player

Serge-Philippe Raux Yao

Serge-Philippe Raux Yao

born 1999

Ivorian and French association football player

PD

Pierre Ducrocq

born 1976

French footballer (born 1976)

Félix Pissarro

Félix Pissarro

1874–1897

French painter (1874-1897)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
MG

Michel Giraud

1929–2011

French politician (1929-2011)

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
AD

Alliou Dembélé

born 1988

French association football player

FD

François Dyrek

1933–1999

French actor (1933–1999)

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
KC

Koumba Cissé

born 1991

French-Senegalese handball player

Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

Nearby, Conflans-Sainte-Honorine has the most on record, with 16.

Questions about famous people from Pontoise

Who is the most famous person from Pontoise?

Nicolas Flamel (French scrivener) is the best known by our measure: 50 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Philippe II de Bourgogne and Céline Sciamma.

How many famous people were born in Pontoise?

72 people born in Pontoise have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 105 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 Pontoise known for?

Among its famous people, athletes: 25 of the 72. That is 35% of the town’s list, against 19% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Pontoise?

Nicolas Flamel, born in 1335. The youngest on the list was born in 2008.

Who counts as from Pontoise?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Pontoise 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 (26)

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.