DURING THE FRENCH COLONIALISM IN VIETNAM, THEY ENSLAVED THE VIETNAMESE AND STOLE THE COUNTRY'S RESOURCES FOR NEARLY 100 YEARS

 During the French colonialism in Vietnam, they enslaved the Vietnamese and stole the country’s resources for nearly 100 years.

Someone in the answer section said the French built roads and infrastructures. Yes they did but not for the sake of developing Vietnam or anything but for the sake of “robbing and transporting” valuable resources back to France.

Harbour city like Haiphong became “developed” by that definition with railway running through, you guess why, because it's the transportation gate.

Places with nice weather and beautiful sceneries like Da Lat or Tam Dao had beautiful villas, so the French officers could go there for vacation.

Normal Vietnamese people, while the French were enjoying all that were working as slaves to build the roads, to transport the resources.

The French also destroyed the Temple of Literature which was considered the first university in Vietnam, making it a hospital if I remember correctly.

It was not until so many strikes from nobles took place, etc that the Temple of Literature was restored.

The French also took many royal gems, jewelries which were important part of Vietnam's history.

Now many are still in France, and guess how Vietnamese people get some of them back? They have to buy those via auctions.

Like some already mentioned, they also brutally killed Vietnamese people who were against their regime.

Last summer I had the chance to visit Hoa Lo prison where the French used to keep Vietnamese prisoners.

It was an eye-opening experience, I saw beheading machine, I read stories about women who were raped, tortured, I visited the torturing room.

And I couldn't sleep that night. The conditions those prisoners had to live in, were indeed hell on earth.

Many French visitors visited as well, and I saw many of them, were in shock, asking the tour guide if this was really what the French did.

That was not all, during that time, the French also sent their officers to villages to search and kill people who were/ had the potential to rise up against them.

They burned farmers' houses and shoot people. My grandma lived during that time, in such a village.

Her dad was shot alive by a French officer and her house was burned. They were all innocent people living in their village. My grandma lost her father when she was 8.

This was the bitter truth of colonialism that I believe happened not only in Vietnam but also in other colonized countries. The so-called main countries got richer on the blood, sweat and lives of others.

Of course it's now all past and we should look forward to the future. But all I want to say from telling all these, is that Colonialism has never been and will never be the right thing or something the main countries should be proud of.

And I'm glad that many of the French people who visited Vietnam did visit historical sites like Hoa Lo prison to see the truth.