question regarding loan default

Made a loan of 20K to a friend in '97. Later purchased a car same person, for 3K which was added to the loan (I bought the car, he agreed to buy it back, couldn't buy it back so agreed to add the value to the principle, he used the car for 5 years and then junked it, paid nothing). There were no papers signed in either case, but there is ample written record verifying the loan and car arrangement was understood and agreed to. The friend lives in France, but the funds were placed into an account here in the USA in his name. The car was in France. He has repaid nothing and insists that he has no obligation to pay anything back to me. Is there anything I can reasonable do legally to recover funds? He claims to have no money at all, but he owns two residential properties in France, also there is the bank account in the USA. What would I need to do in order to receive even a partial settlement? Any significant hope? What laws would have jurisdiction? Thank you.

Based on what you say here, you could file suit against him (or at least threaten to do so) in small claims court or in regular court; filing in small claims court is easier and requires no attorney...you could try to collect all of the costs and damages that you suffered due to his behavior...