The french bulldog is the third most popular dog in Australia 
Are they a large breed or a small breed?
They are a smaller breed. To Reduce their size, they were crossed with terriers while some were crossed pugs
Were they bred for a certain reason?
They were used for blood sports but they were outlawed in 1835 which left them unemployed. Since then they have been breed from a sporting breed to a companion breed. 
Is a French Bulldog registered with the AKC? I was thinking about possibly getting one, but want something recognized by the AKC?
Yes, they are the 6th most popular breed of AKC registered dogs
What kind of temperament do they have? I want something not too needy.
use changed from a sporting breed to a companion breed. To reduce their size, some Bulldogs were crossed with terriers, ratter dogs from the "slums" of England. By 1850, the Toy Bulldog had become common in England and appeared in conformation shows when they began around 1860. These dogs weighed around , although classes were also available at dog shows for those who weighed under .
At the same time, lace workers from Nottingham, displaced by the Industrial Revolution, began to settle in Normandy, France. They
French Bulldog breed descends directly from the dogs of the Molossians, an ancient Greek tribe. The dogs were spread throughout the ancient world by Phoenician traders. British Molossian dogs were developed into the English Mastiff, a sub-breed of the Mastiff was the Bullenbeisser, a type of dog used for bull-baiting.
Blood sports such as bull-baiting were outlawed in England in 1835, leaving these "Bulldogs" unemployed; however, they had been bred for non-sporting reasons since at least 1800, so their