The cinema of France comprises the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe, with primary influence also on the creation of national cinemas in Asia.
The Lumière brothers launched cinematography in 1895 with their L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat. By the early 1900s, French cinema led globally, with pioneers like Méliès creating cinematic techniques and the first sci-fi film, A Trip to the Moon (1902). Studios like Pathé and Gaumont dominated, with Alice Guy-Blaché directing hundreds of films. Post-WWI, French cinema declined as U.S. films flooded Europe, leading to import quotas. Between the wars, directors like Jean Renoir, Jean Vigo and Marcel Carné shaped French Poetic Realism. Renoir’s La Règle du Jeu (1939) and Carné’s Les Enfants du Paradis (1945) remain iconic, showcasing innovation despite war challenges.