The concession came to an end in 1943, when Vichy France under German pressure signed it over to the pro-Japanese Reorganized National Government of China in Nanjing.

For much of the 20th century, the area covered by the former French Concession remained the premier residential and retail district of Shanghai, and was also one of the centers of Catholicism in China.

The extent of the French Concession at the time of establishment extended south to the Old City's moat, north to the Yangjingbang canal (Yang-king-pang, now Yan'an Road), west to the Temple of Guan Yu (Koan-ti-miao, 关帝庙) and the Zhujia Bridge (Tchou-kia-kiao, 褚家桥),[1] and east to the banks of the Huangpu River between the Guangdong-Chaozhou Union (Koang'tong-Tchao-tcheou kong-hoan) and the mouth of the Yangjingbang canal.

The French Concession effectively occupied a narrow "collar" of land around the northern end of the Old City, south of the British settlement.

In 1902, the French introduced from France London planes (le platane commun) as a roadside tree on Avenue Joffre (present-day Huaihai Road).

This agreement proclaimed in 1914, gave the French Concession control over a significantly larger area between the Old City and Xujiahui, 15 times the size of the original grant.

Encouraged by the successful expansion by the French, the Shanghai International Settlement also requested the grant of administrative powers over its own extra-settlement roads area in 1914, but this was refused.

When the Japanese took Shanghai in battle, their troops crossed the International Settlement unopposed, but at the entrance of the French Concession, Vice Admiral Jules Le Bigot [fr], then commanding the Naval Forces in the Far East, sat on a folding chair in the middle of the street in front of their vehicles and forced them to negotiate to finally let only an unarmed supply convoy pass.

As early as 1941, the occupation of Shanghai by the troops of the Japanese Empire forced tens of thousands of Chinese to take refuge in the concessions.

The Bataillon mixte d'Infanterie coloniale de Chine (BMICC), many of whose troops were Annamese (Vietnamese), provided security.

This accord, signed by Chiang Kai-shek's ruling Kuomintang led to Chinese troops pulling out of the northern half of French Indochina in exchange for France relinquishing all its foreign concessions in China.

Just as the British employed many Indian police in the International Settlement, the French deployed many personnel from its nearby colony of Annam.

One legacy of this Anglophone presence is the American College on Avenue Pétain (now Hengshan Road), and the nearby Community Church.

The Russian community had a large presence on commercial streets such as Avenue Joffre and contributed to the development of the music profession in Shanghai.