Which countries in South America were first claimed by France?. What region of North America did the French claim?

The countries in South America that were first claimed by France were French Guiana and Haiti.

The region of North America that the French claimed include lands from Louisiana up into modern day central and eastern Canada, Haiti in the Caribbean, and parts of Brazil in South America.

The French colonization process of the Americas began in the 16th century, in the context of the great navigations and the discovery of new territories and maritime routes by Europeans. Following the colonialist wave inaugurated by Spaniards and Portuguese, French, English and Dutch sought to settle in regions where the first colonizers were not yet established, causing many conflicts and wars between the colonizing countries.

The French managed to settle in North America, in the regions of the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes of North America. From 1603, they formed the colonies of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia (Acadia) and New France (Canada). In 1608, Quebec was founded, and in 1643, the same happened with Montreal. In 1682 came the city of New Orleans, located in the Mississippi River Valley in the state of Louisiana.

They took control of some Caribbean islands (Hispaniola - Dominican Republic and Haiti-, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Tobago) and part of South America, which became known as French Guiana. The colonies traded sugar, fish and fruit. To maintain control of the colonies, the French Crown used local authorities. The settlement was small, and the colonies ended up serving only as trading posts.