Question

What was the name of the international incident in which french officials demanded bribes

Answer 1

XYZ Affair
I believe.

Answer 2

It was known as the XYZ affair. The XYZ Affair was a political and diplomatic episode in 1797 and 1798, early in the administration of John Adams, involving a confrontation between the United States and Republican France that led to an undeclared war called the Quasi-War.