In Shrek there is a character called Monsieur Hood, also referred to as Robin Hood later on. He is a clear parody of Robin Hood, a legendary figure from England.
What I don't understand though is why he is French in the film when he is an English figure. So, why did they decide to make him French?
According to Shrek director Andrew Adamson, out-of-universe, the makers did it because they thought it would be funny. In-universe, Hood comes from the "French side" of Sherwood Forest, hence his strong accent.
But that doesn't explain why the Three Blind Mice have British accents (Mike Myers, also the voice of Shrek, makes one rodent sound like John Lennon), the Three Little Pigs speak with a German inflection, and Robin Hood apparently is from the French side of Sherwood Forest. "Our thinking was not so much why do something, but why not do that," Adamson says.
The original Robin of Locksley (the Robin Hood of Pyle's stories) was a minor noble, and all nobles in England at the time (of the setting, not necessarily of the "historical Robin Hood" whose very existence is questionable but was seemingly centuries later) had at least some French Norman blood.
French was spoken at court. Much of what became "high etiquette" was based on French court customs, and the well-known English disdain for the French and anything pertaining to them stems from this period of what some see as "foreign rule".
In short, Robin Hood most likely was French in the stories, though Pyle never seems to have mentioned it (nobility being French was simply expected and needed no explanation).
There is historical significance to Robin hood speaking with a French accent.
As the folk tale is set 100 years after the invasion of England by Willian the conqueror English Lords and Ladies would have all spoken French. If Robin Hood did exist he was most likely Robin of Loxley who would probably have spoken French due to his connection to the King's family.
