List at least three reasons why the French explore and colonize northern North America

Gold, Silver, and Fur trading interested European explorers.

Explanation:

Although trading was a huge reason for expansion and colonization, religion played a big part as well. Spain wanted to make Catholicism more popular and France believed the same. Their main goal was to expand Catholicism all around the globe. And the race to expansion was joined together and exploited to the Western Hemisphere.