France–Vietnam relations (French: Relations franco-vietnamiennes; Vietnamese: quan hệ Pháp-Việt) are the diplomatic and historical relations between the French Fifth Republic and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. These relations began in the 17th century with Catholic missions and various traders until the major involvement of French forces under Pierre Pigneau de Béhaine from 1787 to 1789 helped establish the Nguyễn dynasty. France was heavily involved in Vietnam in the 19th century under the pretext of protecting Catholic missions and ensuring trading privileges in the country. In practice, however, colonial officials in French Indochina were strongly secularist.
Early contacts
French–Vietnamese contacts can be traced to 1658, when the first French missionaries, Joseph Francis Tissanier and Pierre Jacques Albier, S.J., under the Portuguese Padroado, arrived in Vietnam.
One of the early missionaries in Vietnam was the Jesuit priest Alexandre de Rhodes, who arrived in 1624. He was from Avignon (then part of the Papal States, now in France); his mother tongue was Provençal, and he wrote French poorly.
Alexandre de Rhodes returned to Europe in 1650, to advocate the dispatch of bishops in order to better accompany the development of Roman Catholicism in Vietnam (at that time around 100,000 converts), and the dispatch of bishops in order to create a strong native clergy and, to avoid in Vietnam a catastrophic eradication of Christianity, as seen in the case of Christianity in Japan around 1620:Les Missions Etrangeres, p.25
The efforts of Alexandre de Rhodes helped to the creation of the Paris Foreign Missions Society (MEP), marking the involvement of Catholic France as a new missionary power in Asia. From 1662, a base was established in Ayutthaya, Siam, by Mgr Lambert de la Motte and Mgr Pallu, from where numerous attempts were made to send missionaries to Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the Jesuits under the Portuguese Padroado continued their efforts in Vietnam. In 1658, Fathers Manoel Ferreira and Frenchman Joseph Tissanier arrived in Tonkin,Tạ, p.99 but they were expelled in 1664 under the rule of Trịnh Tạc, and fled to Ayutthaya.Les Missions Etrangeres, p.54 In June 1666, the Ayutthaya base of the Paris Foreign Missions Society dispatched Father François Deydier to Tonkin, who was able to reorganize Catholics there, although he remained in hiding.Les Missions Etrangeres, p.55 Mgr Lambert de la Motte himself would also visit the mission in Tonkin in 1669 and reinforce the organization there, under cover of trading activities of the French East India Company.
In 1680, the French East India Company opened a factory in Phố Hiến.Chapuis, A History, p.172 The famous Frenchman Pierre Poivre visited Vietnam from 1720. Missionaries of various nationalities, including Portuguese, Italian/Papal, French, and Spanish, working in Vietnam during the 17th and 18th centuries belonged to the Jesuit Order, the MEP, the Dominican Order, the Discalced Augustinian Order, the Franciscan Order, or were sent directly by the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. By the end of the 18th century, Catholicism had become a firmly established part of Vietnam's spiritual and social landscape, particularly in Đàng Ngoài.
Military collaboration (1787–1820)
Towards the end of the 18th century, the Tây Sơn rebellion overthrew the Nguyễn family, but one of its members Nguyễn Ánh, future Emperor Gia Long, with the aid of the French Catholic priest Pierre Pigneau de Béhaine, titular bishop of Adran, obtained a treaty of alliance with the French king Louis XVI:Kamm, p. 86. the Treaty of Versailles, signed on November 21, 1787.Chapuis, A History, p.175 In return Gia Long promised to cede Pulo-Condore to the French and to give a concession to the French in Tourane (modern Da Nang), as well as exclusive trading rights. That treaty marks the beginning of French influence in Indochina, but the Governor in Pondicherry, Count de Conway, refused to follow through with the implementation of the treaty, leaving Béhaine to his own means.
In spite of these inconveniences, between 1789 and 1799, a French force mustered by Béhaine managed to support Gia Long in acquiring sway over the whole of Vietnam.Chapuis, A History, p. 173-179 The French trained Vietnamese troops, established a navy, and built fortifications in the Vauban style, such as the Citadel of Saigon or the Citadel of Duyên Khanh. Several of these French adventurers would remain in high positions in the government of Gia Long such as Philippe Vannier, Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau, de Forsans and the doctor Despiau.
The death of Gia Long, and the accession of Emperor Minh Mạng in 1820 severely strained relations between France and Vietnam. In an effort to reestablish close contacts, Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau was nominated French Consul in Huế. He offered a peace treaty, but remained unsuccessful, and left Vietnam definitively with Philippe Vannier and their families in December 1824. On 12 January 1825, an embassy led by Captains Hyacinthe de Bougainville and Courson de la Ville-Hélio arrived in Đà Nẵng, with the warships Thétis and Espérance.Chapuis, A History, p. 190 Although they had numerous presents from the Emperor and a letter from Louis XVIII delivered on 8 January 1824, the ambassadors could not obtain an audience from Minh Mạng.Chapuis, The Last Emperors, p. 4
Resistance to missionaries In 1825, emperor Minh Mạng issued an edict prohibiting foreign missionaries in Vietnam, following the infiltration of Father Regéreau from the Thétis when it was anchored in Đà Nẵng.McLeod, p.27 In his edict, Minh Mạng asserted that Christianity perverted the people:
As the prohibition proved largely ineffective, and missionaries continued their activities in Vietnam, especially under the protection of the governor of Cochinchina Lê Văn Duyệt, a total ban on Roman Catholicism as well as French and Vietnamese priests was enacted following their support of the Lê Văn Khôi revolt (1833–1835), leading to persecutions of French missionaries and the execution of Father Joseph Marchand in 1835. These events fed in France a desire to intervene and protect the Roman Catholic faith.
Attempt at overture Following the defeat of China by Great Britain in the Opium War, emperor Minh Mạng attempted to build an alliance with European powers by sending a delegation under the mandarin Ton That Tuong in 1840. They were received in Paris by Prime Minister Marshal Soult and the Commerce Minister, but they were shunned by King Louis-Philippe. This came after the Paris Foreign Missions Society and the Vatican had urged a rebuke for an "enemy of the religion". The embassy offered in vain a trade monopoly for France, in exchange for the promise of military support in case of an attack by another country.Honey, p. 43: "In 1840 he sent an embassy led by the mandarin Ton That Tuong to France offering the French the monopoly of European trade with Vietnam, in return for an undertaken to defend the country in the event of an attack." An attempt to make a treaty with America also failed when Minh Mạng died in 1841.
Minh Mạng's successor, Thiệu Trị, also upheld the anti-Catholic policy of his predecessor but tried to avoid direct confrontations. Captain Favin-Lévêque, arriving in Đà Nẵng in 1840 on board the corvette Héroïne, obtained from Thiệu Trị the release of five imprisoned missionaries.
Naval interventions (1843–1847)
In 1843, the French Foreign Minister, François Guizot, sent a fleet to the East under Admiral Jean-Baptiste Cécille and Captain Charner, together with the diplomat Lagrene. The move responded to the successes of the British in China in 1842, and France hoped to counterbalance these successes by accessing China from the south. The pretext however was to support British efforts in China, and to fight the persecution of French missionaries in Vietnam.Tucker, p.27
In 1845, Cécille was dispatched to Vietnam in order to obtain the release of Bishop Dominique Lefèbvre, who had been condemned to death (the request for the intervention of the French Navy had been transmitted to Cécille by Captain John Percival of the USS Constitution).Chapuis, A History, p.194
In 1847, Cécille sent two warships (Gloire and Victorieuse) under Captains Lapierre and Charles Rigault de Genouilly to Đà Nẵng (Tourane) in Vietnam to obtain the liberation of two imprisoned French missionaries, Bishop Dominique Lefèbvre (imprisoned for a second time as he had re-entered Vietnam secretly) and Duclos, and freedom of worship for Catholics in Vietnam.Tucker, p.28Chapuis, The Last Emperors, p.5 Quote: Two years later, in 1847, Lefebvre was again captured when he returned to Vietnam. This time Cecille sent captain Lapierre to Da Nang. Whether Lapierre was aware or not that Lefebvre had already been freed and on his way back to Singapore, the French first dismantled masts of some Vietnamese ships. Later on April 14, 1847, in only one hour, the French sank the last five bronze-plated vessels in the bay of Da Nang. As negotiations drew on without results, on April 15, 1847, a fight named the Bombardment of Đà Nẵng erupted between the French fleet and Vietnamese ships, four Vietnamese ships were sunk as a result. The French fleet then sailed away.
Territorial conquest
In 1858, Charles Rigault de Genouilly attacked Vietnam under the orders of Napoleon III following the failed mission of diplomat Charles de Montigny. His stated mission was to stop the persecution of Catholic missionaries in the country and assure the unimpeded propagation of the faith.Tucker, p.29 Rigault de Genouilly, with 14 French gunships, 3,000 men and 300 Filipino troops provided by the Spanish,Chapuis, A History, p.195 attacked the port of Đà Nẵng in 1858, causing significant damages, and occupying the city. After a few months, Rigault had to leave the city due to supply issues and illnesses.
Conquest of Cochinchina (1862–1874)
Sailing south, De Genouilly then accomplished the Capture of Saigon, a poorly defended city, on 18 February 1859. De Genouilly was criticized for his actions and was replaced by Admiral Page in November 1859, with instructions to obtain a treaty protecting the Roman Catholic faith in Vietnam, but not to try to obtain territorial gains. Due to the resumption of fighting in China during the Second Opium War, Admiral Page had to divert most of his force to China, to support Admiral Charner there. In April 1860, Page was recalled to France and replaced by captain d’Aries.Chapuis, The Last Emperors, p.49 The Franco-Spanish force in Saigon, now only numbering about 1,000, was besieged by about 10,000 Vietnamese forces from March 1860 to February 1861. Finally, following the French victory in China at the Battle of Palikao, reinforcements of 70 ships under Admiral Charner and 3,500 soldiers under General Vassoigne were dispatched to Saigon, so that the French were able to defeat the besieging Vietnamese at the battle of Chin Hoa (Ky Hoa) on 25 February 1861.Goldstein, p.95 Admiral Bonnard forced the entrance of the Mekong river, and seized Mỹ Tho.Randier, p.380
On 13 April 1862, the Vietnamese government was forced to negotiate and officially cede the territories of Biên Hòa, Gia Định and Định Tường to France in the 1862 Treaty of Saigon, confirmed by the Treaty of Huế (1863).
An embassy was sent to France under Phan Thanh Giản in 1863, to try to recover the territories lost to France.Tran & Reid, p.207. Although Napoleon III initially accepted Phan Thanh Giản's plea, the agreement was finally canceled in 1864, under pressure from Napoleon's cabinet led by the Minister of the Navy and the Colonies Chasseloup-Laubat.