Émigré, in French history, a person who fled from France during the revolution that began in 1789. The émigrés included members of the royal family, nobles, priests, monks, and others who lost lands and privileges. Great numbers of émigrés gathered in Germany, some joining foreign armies to fight the French revolutionary government. Others went to Great Britain or the United States.
Many émigrés returned home after Napoleon came to power in 1799, and others after the monarchy was restored in 1814. The émigrés agitated in vain for restoration of their lands and privileges. A law of 1825 granted them partial compensation, but little was ever paid.
