French Shore , part of the coast of Newfoundland, where French fishermen were allowed to fish and then dry their catch France relinquished all other claims to the island in 1713; Newfoundland had previously been claimed by France despite being occupied by England. According to the Treaty of Paris (1783), the French coast stretched west around the island from Cape St. John in the north to Cape Ray in the southwest.
In the 1880s, Newfoundland began to develop a lobster fishery and factories were built on the French coast. France claimed that this activity violated its treaty rights and lodged a protest in 1886. In 1887 a French warship destroyed property at Port Saunders and in 1889 at Meagher's Cove. In 1888, Newfoundland protested French interference and the building of French lobster factories.
France and Great Britain worked out a modus vivendi in 1889 which gave each lobster packer a designated stretch of coast under the control of British and French commodore, but Newfoundland refused to recognize the treaty. Finally, on April 8, 1904, France sold its claims for 1,375,000 francs.