In the early 18th century, the French started to immigrate to Canada. Until the British conquest in 1760, 35,000 did so. Perhaps fewer than half came to stay. Of them, about 9,000 left behind lineages that today include some fifteen million people on the North-American continent.

Attracted by the project of founding a new society or simply better conditions of life for themselves and their families, French immigrants brought to the USA their techniques, cultural practices and art of living.

The discovery, in 1848, of rich gold mines in California triggered a world-wide movement of population, to which the French contributed significant numbers.  They gathered together in ‘French quarters’ and participated actively in the economic and cultural development of the region.