Are the Minions canonically French? Olympics opening ceremony reveals new information.

The Despicable Me Minions made a cameo at the elaborate Olympics opening ceremony. Does that make them French?

The ceremony had a lot of twists and turns — including a decapitated Marie Antoinette and a performance by Lady Gaga. But perhaps one of the most surprising sections of the show was a televised component featuring the famous yellow little dudes creating mischief in Paris.

In the segment, the Minions can be seen weightlifting, boxing, and defacing the Mona Lisa (certainly a choice!).

Following the feature, ceremony hosts mentioned that the appearance was because the animation studio behind the Minions, Illumination, is French.

So does that mean the Minions themselves are French?

It depends on whom you ask.

According to the New York Times, the yellow species’ creator was director Pierre Coffin, who would improvise the high-pitched gibberish the characters speak. In turn, some of the Minions’ phrases are French.

For example, “Tu es bella comme una papaya” is a mix of French and Italian that means “you are beautiful like a papaya.”

Another is:

“Tu pu dé bra,” which when translated to English means “your arms stink.”

Other reports say while the Minions’ language is mostly unintelligible, the little guys can be heard using some Spanish, Italian, Filipino, and — of course — French words.

On X, one user took connecting the dots a step further, pointing out that the phrase “mignon” in French loosely translates to “cute.”

“It has been in front of us the whole time,” the user wrote.

Still, minion is an English word and it means underling.