Answer:
French Colonial Empire was actually bigger than the Portuguese Empire. Historians have divided French Empire in 2 phases - 1st phase began in 1605 with a colony in North America which is now called Nova Scotia. This phase ended in 1814 by when most of the empire had been lost. The 2nd phase began in 1830 with the conquest of Algiers and continued to expand. By 1930s, it was the second-largest colonial empire in the world behind the British Empire.
France did have a large empire with large territories in South East Asia, north and west Africa. Vietnam was its colony & its war until the Americans "generously" took the mess. Here are the various parts of the world that were one time under French influence.
