The Watchtower Online Library says:
With the invention of the printing press and movable type by Johannes
Gutenberg about 1450, France was swept along by the printing
revolution in Europe. Three French cities—Paris, Lyons, and
Rouen—became important centers of printing, bulwarks in the defense of
the Bible.a
Until this stage of the struggle, French Bible translations had been
based on the Latin Vulgate. The Latin text had become tainted with
numerous errors after a thousand years of repeated copying, but the
church clung to the Vulgate. However, French Catholic Jacques Lefèvre
d’Étaples decided to make the Bible accessible to the people. In 1530
he translated the Vulgate into French, correcting some of its errors
by referring to Hebrew and Greek manuscripts that had recently become
available. He also removed the confusing doctrinal explanations that
the church had inserted into the text.
Lefèvre’s translation quickly came under attack. Some versions had to
be printed outside France. These were put on the list of books banned
by the church. For a time Lefèvre had to seek refuge in Strasbourg,
then a free imperial city to the east of France. Nevertheless, his
translation was a success.
The first French translation of the Bible based on the original
language texts was published in 1535. The translator was French
Protestant Pierre-Robert Olivétan, a cousin of Reformer John Calvin.
Because of the opposition of the church, it could not be printed in
France, so this translation was printed in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, a
fledgling Protestant community. Olivétan’s French Bible translation
served as the standard for many subsequent revisions and Bible
translations into other languages.
SMU Libraries says:
The first French version of the Vulgate Bible, translated by Jacques Lefèvre d’Etaples (c. 1455–1536), was published in 1530. Prior to
Lefèvre’s translation, the only French “Bibles” were abridgements of
the Biblia historiale, a medieval paraphrase of the historical books
of the Bible. In this second edition of 1534, Lefèvre included
introductory material that revealed Protestant influences, which drew
censure from the Catholic Church. The displayed opening includes a
woodcut of the six days of Creation at the beginning of Genesis.
britannica says:
The deep conflicts that characterized the history of Christianity in
France made it difficult for one authoritative version to emerge. The
first complete French Bible was produced in the 13th century at the
University of Paris, and toward the end of that century Guyart des
Moulins executed his Bible historiale. Both works served as the basis
of future redactions, of which the Bible printed in Paris (date given
variously as 1487, 1496, or 1498) by order of King Charles VIII is a
good example.
The real history of the French Bible began in Paris in 1523 with the
publication of the New Testament, almost certainly the work of the
reformer Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples (Faber Stapulensis). The Old
Testament appeared in Antwerp in 1528 and the two together in 1530 as
the Antwerp Bible. The first true Protestant version came out in
Serrières, near Neuchâtel, five years later, the work of Pierre
Robert, called Olivétan. This version was frequently revised
throughout the 16th century, the most-celebrated editions being
Calvin’s of 1546 and that of Robert Estienne (Stephanus) of 1553.
Roman Catholics produced a new version, the Louvain Bible of 1550,
based on both Lefèvre and Olivétan. Modernizations of Olivétan
appeared in succeeding centuries. The most important French version of
the 20th century is the Jerusalem Bible, prepared by professors at the
Dominican École Biblique de Jérusalem (Paris 1949–54, complete 1956).
In summary:
Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples: Lefèvre's full translation of the Vulgate into French was published in 1530. This translation was significant because it corrected errors in the Latin Vulgate and made the Bible more accessible to the people. Lefèvre's work also included introductory material that revealed Protestant influences, drawing criticism from the Catholic Church.
Pierre Robert Olivétan: Olivétan's translation, published in 1535, was the first French version of the Bible based on the original Hebrew and Greek texts. It was a Protestant version, produced amidst conflicts between Catholicism and Protestantism in France. Olivétan's translation served as a standard for subsequent revisions and translations into other languages.
To conclude: While Lefèvre's translation preceded Olivétan's, Olivétan's work was significant as the first Protestant version based on the original language texts. Therefore, both Lefèvre and Olivétan made important contributions to the history of the French Bible translation.
