The French East India Company was established in 1664, as a part of an expedition to develop new trade routes in the East.
After establishing their first factory in Surat (Gujarat) the French continued their Indian expansion on the Eastern Coast of the peninsula, covering the Coromandel Coast, Odisha Coast, Malabar Coast and a few territories in Bengal.
However, it was Pondicherry that had the biggest cultural impact of the French, that it continues to resonate to date