Remember, the French aligned with the Americans during the Revolutionary War.
Not saying they didn’t have ulterior motives (they were after the same unclaimed territory the British were) but they could have remained neutral.
“Remember, the French aligned with the Americans during the Revolutionary War.”
And afterwards the US launched the Quasi-war against them, mostly consisting of sinking or capturing their ships, because we couldn’t afford to pay our debts to them.
You gotta love international relations: it’s more hardcore than crime...