Again, as with the British presence in China, French Indochina was not a story of the French simply invading the country, putting people to the sword, and establishing a dictatorial rule.
The Vietnamese, Khmer and Chamese peoples were all fighting back and forth to establish hegemony over the Mekond Delta.
French missionaries came to spread the Christian faith peacefully.
The Vietnamese kingdom that eventually took over the Delta had a good relationship with the missionaries and when there was a coup by the anti-Christian Tay Son, the Vietnamese throne asked the missionaries if the French could help them defeat their enemies.
The French intervened, and as a result got trade treaties and military outposts. When the Nguyen succeeded in pacifying the country with French help, they then turned on the French and tried to expel them.
The Khmer also asked the French to make them a French protectorate to defend them from the Vietnamese.
After two short battles with little loss of life, the Nguyen ceded territory to the new French protectorate and French Indochina was born.
The French had a constructive relationship with the peoples of the Mekong Delta for 250 years before one angry king tried to steal their stuff and expel them, and he paid a price.
Very different from what Japan did.
Well, I think you’ve swallowed wholesale 19th century apologetics for European imperialism.
Military and naval officers for all the European powers were constantly looking for pretexts to expand their country’s colonies and make a name for themselves. When they didn’t happen naturally, they weren’t above manufacturing them.
The murder of a few priests, while deplorable and appropriate to punish, is not exactly a valid reason for conquering and ruling an entire country for a century.