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Answer
France started making loans available through a front company (Hortelez and Co) to the American Rebels quite early on, which the Rebels were then able to use to purchase critical supplies of arms and powder. By 1778, after the battles of Germantown and Saratoga, the French became convinced that the Rebels would not "kiss and make up" with the British Crown, and that they had a fair chance of winning. As a result, they signed a treaty with the Americans (The Treaty of Amity and Commerce) which increased their role in supplying weapons and powder and many other critical supplies. That treaty soon became an even more firm treaty of military cooperation, and French troops and fleets were sent to cooperate directly with the Rebels in fighting the British. In the final, climactic battle in the Southern Campaign, there were nearly as many French troops as American troops pressing the defenses at Yorktown, most of the American artillery and a large percentage of the American's muskets were of French manufacture, and the French Fleet's intervention prevented the British from evacuating Cornwallis and making good their escape.
Additionally, it should be noted that France contributed in two more critical ways.
1. French officers, and those seconded by the French werre important in strengthening the Americans' officer corps. Most famously, of course, there was LaFayette. Conway and others also played a role.
2. France and her Allies (Spain and Holland) fought against British interests elsewhere in the world, threatening the British Empire at many points, and even threatening to invade Britain itself. As a result, Britain had to disperse its military and Naval power over a much greater area, and was unable to reinforce and escalate their power in the North American colonies. They had to keep considerable forces at home to protect against attack, right from the start, which is what prompted them to hire German regiments from Hesse-Hannau and elsewhere, thus vastly increasing the cost of the war.
In short, it's unlikely that the Americans could have won without at least some financial help from France, and in the event as it happened, France's support and friendship was actually very, very important. Let's keep in mind, however, that the French Crown didn't aid the Americans because he liked them, nor did he spend the huge sums and send his troops to support the Rebels because he loved the repuiblican ideals of liberty. In point of fact, he merely saw the Rebellion in the colonies as a way of weakening and hurting the hated rival British.
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