It comes hot on the heels of a number of other cash pledges and green initiatives by world leaders at the COP21 Climate Talks in Paris.
More than 40,000 delegates are meeting to try to hammer out a global climate deal.
Africa may produce relatively few carbon emissions, but the continent is particularly vulnerable to a changing climate with populations that are poorer and more rural.
President Hollande says his government will double investments in renewable energy generation on the continent to €2 billion up to 2020.
France will also give another €1 billion to help Africa fight desertification.
