France at the Olympics explained

Noc:	FRA
Nocname:	French National Olympic and Sports Committee
Games:	Olympics
Website:
Rank:	6
Gold:	280
Silver:	319
Bronze:	354
App Begin Year:	allamanya
See also:	1906 Intercalated Games

The modern Olympic Games were founded by French historian Pierre de Coubertin. France has competed in every edition (both Summer and Winter), with the possible exception of the 1904 Games (as sources disagree about whether athlete Albert Corey competed for the United States or France^[1] ^[2]).

Entering 2024, French athletes had won 751 medals at the Summer Olympic Games in a wide variety of sports, achieving particular success in fencing and cycling. France has won an additional 138 medals at the Winter Olympic Games, notably in alpine skiing.

The record for titles at the Olympic Games is held by biathlete Martin Fourcade with five gold medals at the Winter Games and judoka Teddy Riner with five gold medals at the Summer Games, while the record for podiums is held by fencers Philippe Cattiau and Roger Ducret, in the 1920s-1930s with eight medals each, Martin Fourcade and Teddy Riner following with seven medals each (two silver in addition to these five titles for the former and two bronze for the latter), ahead of three other fencers, Lucien Gaudin, Christian d'Oriola and Philippe Riboud (six medals).

Hosted Games

In June 1894, during the first Olympic Congress in Paris, on the initiative of Pierre de Coubertin, it was decided to resume the Olympic Games and to found the IOC. In 1900, Paris hosted the second modern Summer Olympic Games, which took place as part of the World Exhibition. The Olympics were held there in Paris a second time in 1924 and a third time in 2024. This makes Paris, together with London, the current record city host, to which Los Angeles will also be added with its third hosting of the Summer Olympics in 2028. In total, France has hosted the Olympic games on six ocassions and is scheduled to host a seventh with the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps.

Games	Host city	Dates	Nations	Participants	Events
		14 May – 28 October	24	997	95
		25 January – 4 February	16	258	16
	Paris	5 – 27 July	44	3,089	126
		6 – 18 February	37	1,158	35
		4 – 23 February	64	1,801	57
	Paris	26 July – 11 August	206	10,714	329
2030 Winter Olympics	French Alps	1 – 17 February	TBC	TBC	TBC

Overview of Olympic participation

France at the Summer Olympics

scope=col	Games	scope=col	Athletes competed	scope=col		scope=col	scope=col	scope=col	Total	scope=col	Rank
		5	4	2	11	4
		27	38	37	102	1
		0	1	0	1	13
		5	5	9	19	4
		7	4	3	14	6
		9	19	13	41	4
		13	15	10	38	3
		6	10	5	21	5
		10	5	4	19	6
		7	6	6	19	5
		10	6	13	29	3
		6	6	6	18	8
		4	4	6	14	11
		0	2	3	5	25
		1	8	6	15	10
		7	3	5	15	10
		2	4	7	13	14
		2	3	4	9	14
		6	5	3	14	10
		5	7	16	28	9
		6	4	6	16	11
		8	5	16	29	8
		15	7	15	37	5
		13	14	11	38	6
		11	9	13	33	7
		7	16	20	43	10
		11	11	13	35	7
		10	18	14	42	7
		10	12	11	33	8
	573	16	26	22	64	5
	future event

Total		239	277	299	815	5

France at the Winter Olympics

scope=col	Games	scope=col	Athletes competed	scope=col		scope=col	scope=col	scope=col	Total	scope=col	Rank
		0	0	3	3	5
		1	0	0	1	6
		1	0	0	1	8
		0	0	1	1	9
		2	1	2	5	7
		0	0	1	1	11
		0	0	0	0	–
		1	0	2	3	9
		3	4	0	7	6
		4	3	2	9	3
		0	1	2	3	12
		0	0	1	1	14
		0	0	1	1	14
		0	1	2	3	11
		1	0	1	2	15
		3	5	1	9	7
		0	1	4	5	11
		2	1	5	8	11
		4	5	2	11	8
		3	2	4	9	12
		2	3	6	11	12
		4	4	7	15	10
		5	4	6	15	9
		5	7	2	14	10
	future event
	future event
	future event
Total		41	42	55	138	13

Medals by winter sport

Best results in non-medaling sports:

Summer
Sport	Rank	Athlete	Event & Year
	5th		Women's singles in 2008
	9th		Women's tournament in 2000
	4th		Men's tournament in 1920
	4th		Men's tournament in 1932
	6th		Women's group in 2024
	4th		Men's individual in 2024
	6th		Men's individual in 2024
	4th		Men's street in 2020
	5th		Men's combined in 2020
Winter
Sport	Rank	Athlete	Event & Year
	5th		Men's tournament in 1924
	5th		Men's tournament in 1928
	11th		Men's doubles in 1968
	5th		Men's 5000 metre relay in 1992
			Men's 1500 metres in 2002
			Women's 3000 metre relay in 2006
			Men's 5000 metre relay in 2010
	14th		Men's individual in 2006
	4th		Men's 1500 metres in 1984
	4th		Men's 10000 metres in 2010

Summary by sport

Aquatics

Artistic Swimming

France's only artistic swimming medal came in the Women's duet at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Games	Swimmers	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	9	2/2	0	0	1	1
Total			0	0	1	1

Diving

France's only diving medal came in the women's three-metre springboard in 1952.

Games	Divers	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	4	4/4	0	1	0	1
Total			0	1	0	1

Swimming

France first competed in swimming at the Paris 1900 Games, with 47 swimmers, taking five medals, including one Gold.

Games	Swimmers	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	47	7/7	1	2	2	5
	5	5/11	0	1	0	1
	17	11/11	0	0	2	2
	16	11/11	1	1	1	3
	16	8/18	0	1	0	1
	16	?/29	0	0	1	1
	16	15/29	0	1	1	2
	25	29/31	0	0	2	2
	25	25/31	0	0	3	3
	19	22/32	0	1	0	1
	21	23/32	1	2	3	6
	35	27/34	1	2	3	6
	31	24/34	4	2	1	7
	30	24/34	0	2	1	3
	28	28/37	0	1	0	1
	33	30/37	4	1	2	7
Total			12	17	22	51

Water Polo

France was a winner of 1924 tournament, and have twice more finished third.

Games	Water polo players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	11	1/1	0	0	1	1
	11	1/1	1	0	0	1
	9	1/1	0	0	1	1
Total			1	0	2	3

Archery

France competed in archery in its first Olympic appearance in Paris 1900. The French team there took 13 of the 20 medals, including gold in 4 of the 7 events.

Games	Archers	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
	129	7	4	5	4	13	1
	Did not compete
	15	3	1	1	1	3	2
	No competition
	8	10	1	4	1	6	2
	Did not compete
	5	2	0	0	0	0	-
	2	2	0	0	0	0	-
	Did not compete
	2	2	0	0	0	0	-
	6	4	0	0	0	0	-
	6	4	1	0	0	1	2
	4	4	0	0	0	0	-
	5	4	0	0	0	0	-
	6	4	0	0	0	0	-
	5	4	0	0	1	1	5
	4	4	0	0	0	0	-
	3	4	0	1	0	1	3
	4	5	0	0	0	0	-
	6	5	0	1	1	2	2
Total			7	12	8	27	4

Athletics

France first competed in athletics at the inaugural 1896 Games, winning a silver and a bronze. The nation's first gold medal in the sport is a disputed one; Michel Théato was Luxembourgish but living in Paris; his win in the 1900 marathon is credited to France by the International Olympic Committee, which rejected a petition by Luxembourg to change the Olympic record of Théato's nationality.^[3]

Games	Athletes	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
	5	9/12	0	1	1	2
	23	18/23	1	4	2	7
		37	1	0	0	1	11
	25	28	0	0	1	1	16
	21	41	1	1	2	4	9
	55	42	0	0	1	1	18
	57	43	1	0	0	1	13
	49	44	3	0	1	4	4
	53	46	0	0	0	0	-
	61	46	0	0	2	2	33
	52	57	0	1	2	3	27
	52	47	1	1	1	3	12
	54	47	0	3	3	6	21
	61	48	0	1	0	1	31
	90	48	0	1	0	1	31
Total			14	27	29	70	16

Basque pelota

In the only appearance of basque pelota as a medal sport at the Olympics in 1900, the French team (one of only two teams to enter) withdrew shortly before the competition started, and the match was not played. The Spanish pair is credited with the gold medal.^[4] ^[5]

Games	Players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	2	1/1	0	0	0	0
Total			0	0	0	0

Cricket

France is one of two nations to have competed in the only Olympic cricket competition, in 1900. The French team lost to a British team, taking second place.

Games	Players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	12	1/1	0	1	0	1
Total			0	1	0	1

Croquet

France was the only nation to compete in the only Olympic croquet competitions, in 1900.

Games	Players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	10	3/3	3	2	2	7
Total			3	2	2	7

Cycling

France first competed in cycling in 1896, winning four of the six cycling events—all of the events which France contested. France has won more gold medals (41) and total medals (91) in the sport than any other nation.

Games	Cyclists	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
	2	4/6	4	1	1	6
	22	18	1	1	1	3	6
	28	18	2	3	1	6	2
	23	18	1	3	0	4	3
	21	18	0	0	1	1	18
	30	22	0	0	2	2	21
	31	22	3	3	3	9	1
Total			41	27	23	91

Equestrian

France has won the third-most gold medals and fourth-most total medals in equestrian sports. The nation hosted the first equestrian events in Paris 1900, winning gold medals in two of the five events.

Games	Riders	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
	39	5	2	2	4	8	2
	4	5	1	1	1	3	2
	12	7	0	2	0	2	4
	12	5	0	0	1	1	6
	9	6	0	2	0	2	5
	3	5	2	1	0	3	1
	9	6	0	1	0	1	2
		6	2	1	1	4	1
		6	1	1	1	3	2
		6	0	0	0	0	-
	7	5	0	0	1	1	7
		6	1	1	0	2	3
		6	1	1	0	2	4
		6	0	0	0	0	-
		6	1	0	0	1	4
	Did not compete
	11	6	0	0	0	0	-
	12	6	1	1	1	3	2
	12	6	0	0	1	1	7
		6	0	0	1	1	7
	10	6	0	0	0	0	-
	9	6	1	0	0	1	4
	7	6	0	0	0	0	-
	10	6	0	0	0	0	-
	12	6	2	1	0	3	2
	9	6	0	0	1	1	6
	9	6	0	1	1	2	3
Total			15	16	14	37	3

Fencing

France has won the second-most gold medals and second-most total medals in fencing, in each case behind Italy.

Year	Fencers	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
	4	3	1	2	0	3	2
	211	7	5	5	5	15	1
	Did not compete
	22	7	2	1	1	4	1
	Did not compete
	18	7	1	4	3	8	2
	24	7	3	3	0	6	1
	20	7	2	3	0	5	1
	11	7	2	1	0	3	2
	19	7	0	2	1	3	3
	21	7	3	1	0	4	1
	21	7	2	0	1	3	3
	18	7	1	1	2	4	3
	21	8	0	0	0	0	-
	20	8	0	2	3	5	4
	20	8	1	0	1	2	4
	19	8	0	1	2	3	5
	18	8	0	1	2	3	6
	16	8	4	1	1	6	1
	20	8	2	2	3	7	3
	19	8	2	1	0	3	2
	20	8	2	0	3	5	3
	15	10	2	2	3	7	3
	16	10	1	4	1	6	3
	19	10	3	1	2	6	2
	17	10	2	2	0	4	1
	11	10	0	0	0	0	–
	15	10	1	1	1	3	4
	18	12	2	2	1	5	2
	18	12	1	4	2	7	5
Total			45	47	38	130	2

Football

France competed in the first men's Olympic football "tournament," winning one match and losing another to earn a second place finish currently recognized as a silver medal performance. The nation was a frequent competitor from then through 1996, peaking with a gold medal win in 1984. France did not qualify for the men's tournament from 2000 to 2016, but has qualified for the 2020 Games.

France did not qualify for the first four women's tournaments from 1996 to 2008. The French women debuted in 2012, placing 4th, and followed that with a 5th-place finish in 2016.

Games	Players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	13	1/1	0	1	0	1
Total			1	1	0	2

Golf

France competed in the first Olympic golf tournaments in 1900, which the nation hosted. The French golfers' best results that year were 4th place for the women and 10th place for the men. France did not compete in the 1904 golf tournaments. When the sport returned to the Olympics in 2016, France had two men and two women compete; the best result was Grégory Bourdy's 21st-place finish.

Games	Fencers	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	7	2/2	0	0	0	0
	4	2/2	0	0	0	0
Total			0	0	0	0

Gymnastics

France had one gymnast participate in one event in the inaugural 1896 Games. The nation's first medals in the sport came when Paris hosted the Games in 1900; the only event on the schedule was the men's individual all-around, in which France swept the top 18 places (having 108 of the 135 competing gymnasts).

Games	Gymnasts	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	1	1/8	0	0	0	0
	108	1/1	1	1	1	3
Total			3	10	9	22

Polo

France competed at two of the five editions of Olympic polo tournaments, both occasions when Paris hosted the Games in 1900 and 1924. The nation is formally credited with no medals, though French players competed on a mixed team in 1900 (along with a British player) that took bronze. France had a fully-French team as well in 1900, which took fifth place. Both the all-French and the mixed team went 0–1 (losing to the same team), with the mixed team placed higher due to a bye. The French team in 1924 went 0–4 in the round-robin tournament. Thus, the overall Olympic record of teams with French polo players is 0–6.

Games	Players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	7	1/1	0	0	0	0^[6]
	5	1/1	0	0	0	0
Total			0	0	0	0

Rowing

France hosted the inaugural Olympic rowing contests in Paris 1900. France won 2 of the 5 gold medals, and a French boy served as cox in the final for the otherwise Dutch team that won the coxed pair.

Games	Rowers	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	47	4/4	2	3	1	6^[7]
Total			8	15	14	37

Rugby

France hosted the inaugural Olympic rugby union contest in 1900, winning the gold medal over Germany and Great Britain. France did not play in 1908, but returned in 1920 (losing the single match to the United States) and 1924 (beating Romania but losing again to the United States).

With the return of rugby, in the form of rugby sevens, in 2016, France competed again. France had both men's and women's teams in 2016; both advanced out of pool play to the quarterfinals but were defeated there.

Games	Players	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	17	1/1	1	0	0	1
	15	1/1	0	1	0	1
	30	1/1	0	1	0	1
	25	2/2	0	0	0	0
Total			1	2	0	3

Sailing

France hosted the first Olympic sailing competitions in 1900, earning 24 total medals in the 13 events, including 5 golds.

Games	No. Sailors	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Ranking
	451	130/13	5	9	10	24	1
	3	1/4	0	0	1	1	4
	3	1/4	1	0	0	1	3
	3	1/14	0	1	0	1	6
	9	3/3	0	0	1	1	5
	13	3/3	1	0	0	1	3
	3	2/4	1	0	0	1	3
	14	4/4	0	0	0	0
	17	5/5	0	0	0	0
	9	4/5	0	0	0	0
	8	4/5	0	0	0	0
	11	5/5	0	0	0	0
	3	2/5	0	0	0	0
	9	4/5	0	0	0	0
	11	5/6	1	1	0	2	2
	10	5/6	0	0	0	0
	0	0/6	0	0	0	0
	11	6/7	0	0	1	1	8
	13	7/8	2	0	0	2	1
	17	10/10	2	0	0	2	2
	13	8/10	0	0	0	0
	12	7/11	0	0	0	0
	18	11/11	1	0	1	2	7
	18	11/11	0	1	2	3	9
	16	10/10	0	0	1	1	12
	15	10/10	1	0	2	3	6
	14	9/10	0	2	1	3	8
			15	14	20	49	4

Shooting

France competed in shooting at the inaugural 1896 Games, with one shooter in one event, winning no medals. The nation's first medals came when France hosted the Games in 1900, with 3 golds and 10 total medals that year.

Games	Shooters	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	1	1/5	0	0	0	0
	37	9/9	3	4	3	10
Total			9	14	10	33

Tennis

France first competed in tennis at the inaugural 1896 Games, with one player competing in men's singles and losing in the first round.

Games	Athletes	Events	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
	1	1/2	0	0	0	0
	14	4/4	0	1	1	2^[8]
Total			5	6	8	19

External links

Web site: France . 27 July 2021 . International Olympic Committee .
Web site: France . Olympedia.com .
Web site: Olympic Analytics/FRA . olympanalyt.com .

Notes and References

Web site: St. Louis 1904 Summer Olympics - Athletes, Medals & Results. 25 April 2018.
Web site: Olympic Games | History, Locations, & Winners.
Web site: Michel THEATO (1878-1919). pierrelagrue-jo.com. 20 April 2017.
https://www.olympic.org/paris-1900/basque-pelota/cesta-punta-men 1900 basque pelota results from olympic.org
Web site: Two-Man Teams With Cesta, Men . Olympedia . 29 January 2021.
Does not include a bronze medal by a mixed team that included French players.
Does not include a gold medal as part of a mixed team in 1900.
Does not include a silver medal earned as part of a mixed team in tennis in 1900