| Group: | French New Zealanders Franco-Néo-Zélandais |
| Population: | 7,677 (born in France, 2018)[1] |
| Popplace: | Auckland Wellington Canterbury |
| Langs: | New Zealand EnglishFrench |
| Rels: | Christianity (mainly Roman Catholicism)Judaism |
| Related: | French Australians • French British |
French New Zealanders are New Zealanders who are of French ancestors or a French-born person who resides in New Zealand.
The French were among the earlier European settlers in New Zealand, and established a colony at Akaroa in the South Island.[2]
Captain Jean-François-Marie de Surville is the first known Frenchman to have visited New Zealand,[3] in 1769, and by the 1830s, French whalers were operating off the Banks Peninsula.[4]
French missionaries and priests also had a significant effect on Catholicism in New Zealand. In 1835, Jean-Baptiste Pompallier was the first bishop of any denomination in New Zealand and was known to be sympathetic to Māori interests at the time.[5] Suzanne Aubert came to New Zealand from France in 1860, and founded the Sisters of Compassion in 1892, a religious order of nuns. The cause for her canonization is ongoing,[6] meaning she may become New Zealand's first saint.
| Religion | Percentage of the French population in New Zealand | |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 26.2% | |
| Christian (not further defined) | 3.9% | |
| Anglican | 3.0% | |
| No religion | 50.1% | |
| Object to answering | 7.1% |