Quite a long response to something you're not sure you understood. I don't promote special rights of indigenous English/French populations - that would be  ironic : I am an immigrant to Canada.

What I meant was French culture is French culture regardless of where the "tributaries" were born. Picasso is known as a Spanish, not French artist, yet his best years where while living in France. All the people you listed flourished in France not because of their ethnic background but because of cultural (political, or sports) environment and should I say despite of where they were born.