How Much French Influence is Still Present in Modern Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia?

Question

The Spaniards have affected the Philippines culturally and linguistically, but it seems like the former nations of Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia) have managed to get rid of French influences.

What from the French has remained in any or all of these nations? Language, traditions, culture?

Answer 1

the building....

Answer 2

Obvious influences are the colonial era buildings that remain.

In Hanoi, I met a few old people who were educated at French schools (lycee) and still spoke French whereas the new generations (and mind you, over 60% of VN's population was born after the Vietnam War ended) learn English.

Some influences remain in food, e.g., you can still get a good baguette in these former French colonies.

The French approached managing/administering their SE Asia colonies different from how the Spaniards and the British did. Hence, it is not surprising that there are few remants of French culture in SE Asia.

Read a few history books and you'll know these countries had less to get "rid of" than you seem to think. The French focussed on the elite (left the masses unaffected) and due to civil strife in general (and Pol Pot in particular), the French-educated elite left with the last American troops or perished soon thereafter.

Answer 3

the ladies  are very fasion concious even poor woman will co-ordinate what they wear. i dont know if thats from the french or thats women just being women , but i've often said the ladies in vn  ".. walk around w/ the posture of a french fasion model..." [ the guys , not so much lol although it is not uncommon to see an older man wearing a beret ]. the cyclos that are still around i do believe are from the french. and all the students i know [ many] want to learn to speak french. it amazes me how the viet namese embrace the french [ and the americans] after the french tried to enslave them and the americans tried to bomb them back to the stone age ... good people those viet namese...  oh yeah , they have eliminated almost all structures [ i know of] put up by the americans but it is very rare to see an old french bunker or villa come down.[just check out da lat] for that matter i've seen much french archtecture remaining in lao & campuchia also.  and oh yeah... nobody has better french fried potatoes !

Answer 4

i dont know but i do know that when my mom and dad were in school, they did learn french. they are both from Laos.