According to unofficial statistics, around 50,000 people of Ukrainian origin live in France. Many of them are the descendants of workers and agricultural workers who came to France in search of work and displaced political emigrants.
The first Ukrainian organization in France was established in 1908 and was called “Le Cercle des Ukrainiens à Paris.” In 1933 the newspaper “La Parole ukrainienne” began to be published and continues to appear today.
In 1997, the Ukrainian organizations in France got together and created the Representative Committee of the Ukrainian Community in France. Organizations such as "Union of Ukrainians in France", "Association of Frenchmen of Ukrainian Origin", "Association of Ukrainian Women in France", "Association of Former Soldiers of the UNR Army", "Ukrainian Youth Union", "Ukrainian Students Union" joined the Committee that coordinates the social and cultural life of Ukrainians in France.
The European branch of the Scientific Society T. Shevchenko has been operating in Sarcelles near Paris since 1951. Society did a lot of work arranging the publication of the "Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Studies"! Now it has a large archive and library, which has 25 thousand volumes.
Ukrainian Library named after Simon Petliura has existed in Paris since 1929. Its funds have preserved books, documents, archives of the twentieth century those relating to the Ukrainian state of 1917-1921.
Ukrainian identity is maintained through the work of Ukrainian Saturday schools. Two of them are operating in Paris. There is a small Ukrainian school-circle in Nice.
The National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations of the Paris Sorbonne has a department of the Ukrainian language. In July 2015, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Institute and the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Among Ukrainian art groups in France, the most popular and active is the choir of the Cathedral of St. Vladimir the Great (Paris). The choir "Dudarik" resumed its activities in Lyon. The Ukrainian Literary Club has been operating in Paris since 2008.