Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza chose the village of Masuku to resettle former slaves and renamed it Francheville (meaning "city of the freed") in 1880.

[1] Features of the town include St Hilaire's Church (built in 1899), a large statue of President Omar Bongo (who was born in Franceville), a primate medical research institute, and a golf course.

There is a market where numerous items can be purchased, including clothing, fruit and vegetables, electronics, meats, and the market also sells bushmeat, which includes Central African rock python, monkey and local species of animals.

Another population number is 42,967,[3] possibly retrieved following the disputed[2] census of 2003 (alternately a 2004 estimate[4]).

It is home to the Canadian-sponsored Polytechnic and Faculty of Science and the National Higher Institute of Agronomy and Biotechnology, which trains agricultural engineers.