The map of the Carolingien empire shows the conquests of Charlemagne, which were divided up between his three grandsons in the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Much of this territory was regained by Napolean and remained a part of the French empire until the mid-19th century.
In 1650, oversea trading began to pick up and the French empire began its expansion around the globe. At this time, the Dutch, the French, the Portuguese, the British, and the Spainards were expanding and exploring overseas. Though Spain claimed the America's, it was France and Britain that would fight and take most of the Northern continent leaving Spain and Portugal to fight over South America.
By the late 18th century, France had colonized many countries but did not have the manpower or the ability to hold on to these overseas possessions, thus, many of the territories would change hands several times over a countries lifespan. Most of the territories in North America had French settlers in terms of hunters and missionaries, but not many families migrated to settle, thus, Britain took most of the land by force and was ceded the rest through treaties. This occured with all of Canada and many of the states in the U.S. In the Louisiana purchase, France lost land to the newly formed United States of America in 1803 which was heavily populated with British immigrants. In India, Great Britain made sure to take over all the lands within the area by the early 1800's, thus, by 1815, there were no French territories left in India.
During the expansions of the 19th century, Great Britain and France made sure that Germany did not extend too far beyond its countries borders. The possessions Germany had in Africa would soon be taken over by others or become independent. Much of the expansion in Africa took place between 1885 and 1914. In the early 19th century, Africa was still fairly unconquered. Most of the expansion was due to the acquisition of slaves, minerals, and land because of the overcrowded cities of Europe. As the plagues became fewer and medicine increased in effectiveness, the populations began to grow at an unexpected rate. This increased the need for more land and for more resources.
By 1960, many of the colonies that France possessed in Africa were becoming Independent or had decided to become an Overseas Territory. These countries all became members of the ACCT where as other French speaking countries make up the list for associate members and so forth. Though France was not able to hold on to many of its possessions, its language and culture had a continuous and profound effect on countries across the globe.