Hinduism in France

French people who were Hindus or were influenced by Hinduism include Victor Cousin,[2] Alexandra David-Néel,[3] Paul Gauguin, René Guénon, Jules Michelet, Mirra Richard, Romain Rolland, Satprem, Paul Verlaine, François Gautier and Voltaire.

Hinduism is followed in the Martinique by the Indo-Martiniquais. Though Indo-Martiniquais comprises approximately 10% of the population of the island of Martinique, only a few are Hindus. Only 15% of Indo-Martiniquais are Hindus.[4]

As of 2010, Hinduism is followed by 1.6% of the population of French Guiana.[5] It is practiced mostly by the descendants of the Indo-Guyanese, who in 2014 numbered around 360,000.[6]

The French government gathers no statistics on religious affiliation. Because of this, it is impossible to know accurately how many Hindus there are in Réunion. Estimates of practicing Hindus vary from 6.7%[7] to 10.7%.[8] Most of the large towns have a functioning Hindu temple.[9] Yet, uncertainty as to the exact number of Hindus in the country results from the fact that many of the members of the Indian population cross-identify with Roman Catholic, Muslim and Hindu faiths.

About 59% of the Gujarati, 40% of the Punjabis, 10% of the Tamils in Réunion are Hindus. An interesting feature, likely peculiar to Réunion, is the simultaneous observance by some ethnic Indians of both Catholic and Hindu rites, a practice that has earned them the sobriquet of being "socially Catholic and privately Hindu."

Hinduism is practised by Some Indo-Guadeloupeans in Guadeloupe. According to a Statistics, Hinduism is followed by 0.5% of the Guadelopeans.[10]

• Horowitz, Michael M. (1963). "The Worship of South Indian Deities in Martinique". Ethnology. 2 (3): 339–346. doi:10.2307/3772865. ISSN 0014-1828.