Franceia is a genus of green algae belonging to the family Oocystaceae.

[1] The genus name of Franceia is in honour of Raoul Heinrich Francé (1874-1943), who was an Austro-Hungarian botanist, microbiologist as well as a natural and cultural philosopher and popularizer of science.

[2] The genus is found in freshwater plankton and has a cosmopolitan distribution,[3] but the species are rare and poorly known,[4] and many require revision.

Asexual reproduction occurs by the formation of two, four or eight autospores which form inside the mother cell wall.

[1] Distinguishing features of species include the size and shape of cells and the number and length of the bristles.