Post 1700 is a little late because of the Ottomans and the Maghreb was pretty Muslim at that point. You best bet might not be France leading the charge but Spain. If the Spanish empire gets dismembered, there were talks about doing it leading up to the War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish might have tried to regain their prestige by conquering the Maghreb. The sooner this happens the better.
The Ottomans would not be happy about this but if they were knocked out by Austria or Russia there would be no Muslim power strong enough to contest the Maghreb from the Christians.