Final answer:
France lost to Great Britain in the Seven Years' War. The critical battle was the Battle of Quebec in 1760, leading to the 1763 Treaty of Paris where France ceded most of its North American territories to Britain.
Step-by-step explanation:
France lost to Great Britain in the Seven Years' War, which is also known in the North American context as the French and Indian War. This conflict spanned from 1754 to 1763 and had wide-reaching consequences for global power dynamics. The critical defeat for the French was at the Battle of Quebec in 1760, which was a substantial blow to French colonial ambitions in North America.
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 brought a formal end to the war and resulted in France surrendering its territories in North America, the Caribbean, India, and Africa to Great Britain. After this defeat, Britain emerged as the dominant colonial power in eastern North America, gaining control of territories east of the Mississippi River, save for New Orleans and Louisiana. The British Empire thus expanded significantly, affirming its status as a global power and reducing France's colonial foothold.