Question: When did the french join revolution on colonists side?

context: French involvement in the American Revolutionary War of 1775-1783 began in 1775, when France, a hotbed of Enlightenment anti-establishment culture and a rival of the British Empire, secretly shipped supplies to the Continental Army established in June 1775. A Treaty of Alliance followed in 1778, which led to French shipments of money and matériel to the United States. Subsequently, the Spanish Empire and the Dutch Republic also began to send assistance, leaving the British Empire with no allies (excluding the Hessians). Spain openly declared war but the Dutch did not.
question: When did the french join revolution on colonists side by secretly shipping supplies?
short_answers: June 1775
context: France bitterly resented its loss in the Seven Years' War and sought revenge. It also wanted to strategically weaken Britain. Following the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution was well received by both the general population and the aristocracy in France. The Revolution was perceived as the incarnation of the Enlightenment Spirit against the "English tyranny." Benjamin Franklin traveled to France in December 1776 in order to rally the nation's support, and he was welcomed with great enthusiasm. At first, French support was covert: French agents sent the Patriots military aid (predominantly gunpowder) through a company called "Rodrigue Hortalez et Compagnie", beginning in the spring of 1776. Estimates place the percentage of French supplied arms to the Americans in the Saratoga campaign at up to 90%. By 1777, over five million "livres" of aid had been sent to the American rebels.
question: When did the french join revolution on colonists side by sending military aid though a company called Rodrigue Hortalez et Compagnie?
short_answers: spring of 1776
context: On March 17, 1778, four days after a French ambassador informed the British government that France had officially recognized the United States as an independent nation with the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance, Great Britain declared war on France, thereby engaging that nation in the American Revolutionary War. French entry into the war would lead to further escalation of the war when Spain entered the fight against Britain as France's ally, after the signing of the Treaty of Aranjuez on April 12, 1779, and again in December 1780 when Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic after seizing a Dutch merchant ship they claimed was carrying contraband to France during the Affair of Fielding and Bylandt.
question: When did the french join revolution on colonists side after signing a treaty that made Britain declare war on them?
short_answers: March 17, 1778

Answer: French involvement in the American Revolutionary War of 1775-1783 began in 1775, when France secretly shipped supplies to the Continental Army established in June 1775. At first, French support was covert and French agents sent the Patriots military aid through a company called "Rodrigue Hortalez et Compagnie", beginning in the spring of 1776. On March 17, 1778, four days after a French ambassador informed the British government that France had officially recognized the United States as an independent nation with the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance, Great Britain declared war on France, thereby engaging that nation in the American Revolutionary War.