The French colonised Vietnam in various domains :
(i) Civilising Mission: French claimed that they were bringing modern civilization to the Vietnamese but they dismantled the traditional education system and established French and western pattern of education in Vietnam. They deliberately failed students, glorified French and colonial rule, adopted western styles against Vietnamese interest.
(ii) City Modernisation: French tried to create modern Vietnam with modern native quarter that was not provided with modern facilities. The refuse from the old city drained straight out into the river, overflowed the streets and breeding of rats. French started Rat Hunt. For the Vietnamese, the rat hunt seemed to provide an early lesson in the success of collective bargaining.
(iii) Religion and anti-colonization: Vietnam's religious beliefs were a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism and syncretic tradition. French introduced Christianity against their interest which resulted in Scholars Revolt in 1868 and Hoa-Hao Revolt in 1939.
(iv) Vision of Modernisation: French considered the 'West' as the symbol of development and civilization. This led to debates in Vietnam between Phan Cheu French and Phan Boi Chau who earlier opposed the idea of resisting the French and was hostile to French, whereas the later one resisted French and wanted to regain sovereignty and ties with China.
