Why did the french want to explore the mississippi?

When exploring the Mississippi River, the French sought at first glance to increase the trade in furs with the Indians, but more importantly, they sought a waterway through North America, to connect America with Asia and thus achieve commercial agreements; they also wanted to conquer more territories before the Spanish and English, in addition to establishing missions and thus be able to convert the indigenous to Christianity. One of the achievements was that the Huron Indians allowed young people from France to live among them, learn their language and even take their own customs, which allowed them to learn the landscape and map water routes.