From the WikiP.... said:
Extent of the French colonial empires
Here is a list of all the countries that were part of the French colonial empires in the last 500 years, either entirely or in part, either under French sovereignty or as mandate or protectorate. When only a part of the country was under French rule, that part is listed in parentheses after the country. When there are no parentheses, it means the whole country was formerly part of any one of the French colonial empires. Countries listed are those where French sovereignty applied effectively. Areas that were only claimed, but not effectively controlled (such as Manhattan or Western Australia) are not listed.
"1st" means the country/territory was part of the first French colonial empire. "2nd" means the country/territory was part of the second French colonial empire. "Now" means this is a territory still part of the French Republic today.
[edit] The Americas
[edit] North America
* Canada (most of eastern and central Canada, see Acadia and New France) -- 1st
* Saint-Pierre and Miquelon -- 1st, 2nd, & now
* United States (entire basin of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, Great Lakes, see New France and Louisiana) -- 1st
[edit] Caribbean
* Anguilla (briefly) -- 1st
* Antigua and Barbuda (briefly) -- 1st
* Dominica -- 1st
* Dominican Republic (briefly) -- 1st
* Grenada -- 1st
* Guadeloupe -- 1st, 2nd, & now
* Haiti -- 1st
* Martinique -- 1st, 2nd, & now
* Montserrat (briefly) -- 1st
* Saint Martin (northern half only) -- 1st, 2nd, & now
* Saint-Barthélemy -- 1st, 2nd, & now
* Saint Lucia -- 1st
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -- 1st
* Sint Eustatius (briefly) -- 1st
* St Kitts and Nevis (St Kitts, but not Nevis) -- 1st
* Trinidad and Tobago (Tobago only) -- 1st
* US Virgin Islands (Saint Croix only) -- 1st
[edit] South America
* Brazil (Rio de Janeiro briefly, and São Luís briefly) -- 1st
(see France Antarctique and France Équinoxiale)
* French Guiana -- 1st, 2nd, & now
[edit] Africa
[edit] North Africa
* Morocco (89% of Morocco) -- 2nd
* Algeria -- 2nd
* Tunisia -- 2nd
[edit] West Africa
* Benin (as Dahomey) -- 2nd
* Burkina Faso (as Upper Volta)-- 2nd
* Côte d'Ivoire -- 2nd
* Guinea -- 2nd
* Mali (as French Sudan) -- 2nd
* Mauritania -- 2nd
* Niger -- 2nd
* Senegal -- 1st & 2nd
* Togo -- 2nd
[edit] Equatorial Africa
* Cameroon (91% of Cameroon) -- 2nd
* Central African Republic (as Oubangui Chari)-- 2nd
* Chad -- 2nd
* Gabon -- 2nd
* Republic of the Congo ('Congo-Brazzaville') -- 2nd
[edit] Indian Ocean
* Comoros -- 2nd
* Madagascar -- 2nd
* Mauritius -- 1st
* Mayotte - 2nd & now
* Réunion -- 1st, 2nd, & now
* Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean - 2nd & now
* Seychelles -- 1st
* Tanzania (Zanzibar, briefly) -- 2nd
[edit] Red Sea
* Djibouti (as French Somaliland) -- 2nd
* Yemen (Cheikh Saïd peninsula) -- 2nd
[edit] Asia
[edit] Middle East
* Lebanon -- 2nd
* Syria -- 2nd
* Turkey (Sanjak of Alexandretta, now called Hatay Province) -- 2nd
[edit] South Asia
* India
o half of India (see French India)-- 1st
o only Pondicherry, Karikal, Yanaon, Mahé, and Chandernagore -- 2nd
[edit] East Asia
* China
o Kwang-Chou-Wan leased territory, now the city of Zhanjiang (Guangdong province) -- 2nd
o French concessions in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Hankou -- 2nd
o French sphere of influence recognized by China over the provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, Hainan, and Guangdong -- 2nd
[edit] South East Asia
* Cambodia - 2nd
* Laos - 2nd
* Vietnam (as Annam, Tonkin, and Cochin China) - 2nd
[edit] Oceania
* Clipperton - 2nd & now
* New Caledonia -- 2nd & now
* French Polynesia -- 2nd & now
* Vanuatu (condominium shared with the British Empire) -- 2nd
* Wallis and Futuna -- 2nd & now
[edit] Antarctic Ocean
* French Southern and Antarctic Lands -- 2nd & now
[edit] Unsuccessful colonisations
* Brazil — Settlement of the sites of Rio de Janeiro ("France Antarctique") from 1555 to 1567, and São Luís, Maranhão ("France Équinoxiale"), from 1612 to 1614.
* Florida — Huguenots settled near present-day Jacksonville in 1562 and were massacred by the Spanish in 1565.
* French India — France once had the largest share of the India trade, but lost nearly all of it during the Seven Years' War, keeping only some trading posts until the 1950s, when India annexed them.
* The campaign of Egypt — In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte mounted daring expedition to Egypt. His aim was to either build a canal or to establish an overland route, and thus re-establish a viable road to regain these possessions. Though the Mamluks were trounced on land, the enterprise was hopeless after the Battle of the Nile, as the British cut off the sea lanes of the army of Egypt.
* New Zealand — A colony was established at Akaroa on Banks Peninsula in the South Island in April 1840, but Britain had gained sovereignity over New Zealand through the treaty of Waitangi in February.
* Siam — The king of Siam had to surrender its hegemony over Laos and Cambodia and to grant commercial concessions to France, but managed to retain independence as a buffer state between French Indochina and the British Raj.
* Suez — Though built by a French company, Britain considered the Suez canal vital for communication with its possessions in the Orient, and manoeuvred successfully to establish control over Egypt.
* Africa — France and the British Empire competed for possession of continuous territories from along the west to east and south to north axis of the continent respectively. This rivalry provoked the Fashoda incident in 1898; its peaceful resolution led to the Entente Cordiale.
[edit] Organization of the French Empire in 1931
At the height of the second French colonial empire in 1931, the Empire was organized into the following colonies:
[edit] Africa and the Indian Ocean
* Algeria (not a colony, but three separate départements officially considered part of Metropolitan France, and one territory under military rule)
o Alger département
o Oran département
o Constantine département
o Territoires du Sud territory
* Cameroon (a League of Nations Mandate)
* French Equatorial Africa
o Chad
o Gabon
o Middle Congo
o Oubangi-Chari
* French Morocco (a protectorate)
* French Somaliland (including the Cheik-Saïd peninsula, now part of Yemen)
* French Togoland (a League of Nations Mandate)
* French West Africa
o Dahomey (now Benin)
o French Guinea
o French Sudan
o Ivory Coast
o Mauritania
o Niger
o Senegal
o Upper Volta
* Madagascar (including the Comoros, Mayotte, the Kerguelen Islands, Amsterdam Island, Saint-Paul Island, the Crozet Islands, and the Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean)
* Réunion
* Tunisia (a protectorate)
[edit] The Americas
* French Guiana
* Guadaloupe (including Saint Barthélemy and half of Saint Martin)
* Martinique
* Saint Pierre and Miquelon
[edit] Asia
* French concessions in China: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Hankou
* French India (Pondicherry, Chandernagore, Karaikal, Mahé, Yanaon, now part of India)
* French Indochina
o Annam (a protectorate, part of modern Central Vietnam)
o Cambodia (Kampuchea)(a protectorate)
o Cochin China (a colony, part of modern South Vietnam)
o Laos (a protectorate)
o Tonkin (a protectorate, part of modern North Vietnam)
* Kwang-Chou-Wan (a leased port in China)
* Lebanon (a League of Nations Mandate)
* Syria (a League of Nations Mandate, including the Sanjak of Alexandretta)
[edit] The Pacific
* French Polynesia (a colony, including Clipperton Island)
* New Caledonia (a colony, including Wallis and Futuna)
* New Hebrides (held in condominium with the United Kingdom)