Since the Normans were descended from the Norse, I would not say that France ever really controlled them.
The Normans were a handful of Norse and a whole lotta’ Breton.
“Since the Normans were descended from the Norse, I would not say that France ever really controlled them.”
- The Vikings based in Normandy once threateaned to take over all of France. The Vikings more or less controlled all of Northern France.
The rulers of France of that time had to use tons of heavy cavalry to defeat them. In the end, their strategy worked. After these encounters, the Vikings begun building towns and farms and became a part of the emerging French nation.