While creating a ruling authority called “French Settlements” is appropriate, it still complicates things. French India coins sometimes bear symbols of the French Monarchy, such as this: N#113454 and there's many examples. The thing is, French India was recognised as a colony of France/overseas territory. I don't see why there shouldn't be a monarch as ruling authority if it is a colonial possession. Let us have a look at another example, which is, the EIC. The British Crown had no direct involvement in the coins minted by the EIC. However, in Numista, EIC coins have English monarchs as ruling authority which doesn't make sense as the FEIC/French India was much more closely related to the crown. The French East India Company was heavily influenced by the Crown and had less autonomy than BEIC. I don't see a reason why there shouldn't be a French Monarch as the ruling authority of the coins with respect to their ruling years. Although, this is just a suggestion, “French Settlements” is still very appropriate for a ruling authority.
TL:DR: French India should have Monarchs as ruling authorities just like British Monarchs do under EIC period (before 1858).
