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Where are all the New Zealanders living in France?

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
Where are all the New Zealanders living in France?
New Zealand skipper Conrad Colman celebrates after a round-the-world solo sailing race in France in 2017. Photo: AFP

Are all the Kiwis in France playing professional rugby? Surely not. Here's a look at just how many New Zealanders there are in each part of the country.

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Did you know there are 1,393 New Zealanders living in France? At least that's according to the latest official figures given to The Local by France's national statistics office Insee. 
 
That's hardly a sizeable number and in most of France you'd have to be lucky to bump into a Kiwi, but there are parts of the country where you do stand a chance.
 
For a start anywhere near one of the country's professional rugby stadiums, given the number of New Zealand-born players who are now plying their trade in France.
 
Indeed some of those rugby players in France have caused New Zealand a fair bit of embarrassment after getting into all kinds of trouble including getting caught in a cocaine bust. The most infamous incident saw the national hero and All Black legend Dan Carter arrested for drink-driving in Paris.
 
Other Kiwis have however become heros in their tiny corner of France such as the English teacher who won his battle against deportation after students and locals rose up in support.
 
But anyway here's a quick glance across the country, followed by an in-depth look at all 13 regions. 
 
At a glance
 
There are 1,393 New Zealanders in France. That means it ranks it seventh of the eight Anglo countries we’ve focused on (after Brits, Americans, Indians, Canadians, Irish, and Australians). Indeed, South Africa is only just behind with 1,367 nationals living in France, officially.
 
The top area is the greater Paris region of Ile-de-France, where there are 395 Kiwis, 161 of whom live in Paris, which is the department in the country with the highest Kiwi population.
 
Île-de-France aside, the top region for New Zealanders to live in is Nouvelle Aquitaine with 241, then Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes which has 234 Kiwis living there. 
 
 
Let's take a closer look 
 
All the regions
 
Île-de-France

As mentioned above, this is by far the most popular region for Kiwis, with 161 living in the capital itself. 

Meanwhile Val-de-Marne is a popular back-up with 109 New Zealanders living there, while Yvelines and Hauts-de-Seine are home to 45 and 53 Kiwis, respectively.  

In the greater Paris region of Ile-de-France there's a total of 395 New Zealanders, meaning that 41 percent of Kiwis in greater Paris live in the city itself. The other 59 percent live in the surrounding areas. That's similar to Brits, 60 percent of whom live in the suburbs and 61 percent of Americans do the same. 

The least popular departments
 
There are seven departments in France that don't have a single Kiwi so if you want to make a name for yourself you know where to move to.
 
Those are Doubs in the central eastern region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Ardennes and Haute-Marne in the Grand Est, Tarn-et-Garonne in the south western region of Occitanie, Haute Loire in the central-southern region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Indre in Centre-Val de Loire, and Corse-du-Sud in Corsica. 
 
There are ten departments with a solitary Kiwi, they are: Eure-et-Loire, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Lozere, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Creuse, Orne, Aisne, Pas-de-Calais, and Aube.
 
Perhaps they have found love with a Frenchie and settled down.

Centre-Val de Loire

This region in central France isn’t so popular with Kiwis (or expats in general). There are a total of just 14 New Zealanders in the region, out of a total of 4,407 expats. That's not even enough for a rugby team.
 
You’re most likely to find Kiwis in the Loiret department, which has five New Zealanders.
 
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
 
This region is home to a meagre 29 expats from New Zealand. Most of the Kiwi population is scattered across the region but as we mentioned above you won't find one New Zealander in the Doubs department.
 
The department with the most Kiwis is Territoire de Belfort, with seven New Zealanders. This might not sound like much, but it's a very small department indeed. And to put this into perspective, there are as many Kiwis in the department as there are Australians, Canadians, and Irish put together!
 
Normandy
 
In the north western region of Normandy, there are just 18 New Zealanders and that's compared to a healthy Anglo population of 9,097, with Brits leading the pack by a long way. 
 
Of those 18 Kiwis most live in either the Eure or Manche departments with five in each and there is just one New Zealander in Orne. 
 
Hauts-de-France
 
In the northern Hauts-de-France region there are 26 Kiwis and the majority of them live in one department, the Nord, where 15 New Zealanders are based. Probably mostly in the city of Lille.
 
The Kiwis love the southern half of France
 
Don't we all, really? The top region for New Zealanders to live in the south of France is Nouvelle Aquitaine with 241, then Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes which has 234. Occitanie has 170 while Provence-Alpes-Cotes d'Azur has 177.
 
You're most likely to find the Kiwis in the Alpes-Maritimes department (89), Herault (45), and 44 in the Alps department of Haute-Savoie where they are no doubt attracted by the skiing on offer. 
 
New Zealanders in France, please get in touch if you have any issues you'd like us to cover
 
 

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