Francis I shi ne Sarkin Faransa daga 1515 har zuwa mutuwarsa a 1547. Shi ɗan Charles ne, Count of Angoulême, da Louise na Savoy.Ya gaji dan uwansa na farko da zarar an cire shi kuma surukin Louis XII, wanda ya mutu ba tare da ɗa ba.Babban majiɓinci na fasaha, ya haɓaka haɓakar Renaissance na Faransa ta hanyar jawo hankalin masu fasahar Italiya da yawa don yin aiki a gare shi, ciki har da Leonardo da Vinci, wanda ya kawo Mona Lisa tare da shi, wanda Francis ya samu.Mulkin Francis ya ga sauye-sauyen al'adu masu mahimmanci tare da haɓakar ikon tsakiya a Faransa, yaduwar ɗan adam da Furotesta, da farkon binciken Faransanci na Sabuwar Duniya.Jacques Cartier da sauransu sun yi iƙirarin filaye a cikin Amurka don Faransa kuma sun share hanyar faɗaɗa daular Faransa ta farko ta mulkin mallaka.Don rawar da ya taka wajen haɓakawa da haɓaka harshen Faransanci, an san shi da suna le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres ('Uba da Mai dawo da Haruffa').An kuma san shi da François au Grand Nez ('Francis na Babban Hanci'), Grand Colas, da Roi-Chevalier ('Knight-King').Dangane da magabatansa, Francis ya ci gaba da yakin Italiya.Magajin babban abokin hamayyarsa Sarkin sarakuna Charles na V zuwa Habsburg Netherlands da sarautar Spain, bayan zabensa a matsayin Sarkin Roma mai tsarki, ya kai Faransa daular Habsburg ta kewaye kasar.A cikin gwagwarmayarsa da mulkin mallaka, Francis ya nemi goyon bayan Henry na VIII na Ingila a Filin Tufafin Zinariya.Lokacin da hakan bai yi nasara ba, sai ya kulla kawancen Franco- Ottoman tare da Sarkin Musulmi Suleiman Mai Girma , matakin da ya janyo cece-kuce ga wani sarki Kirista a lokacin.