hat the French gave the Vietnamese technological advancements, and the French received an economic boost. However, in Doumer's words, "Hanoi was a city yet to be built"; therefore, before administration could be set up, Hanoi had to first be improved (Doumer 140, 1930). This was accomplished through forced Vietnamese labour, creating much civil discontent.
             Although many of the Vietnamese despised the French colonization, Vietnam did receive economic security. Doumer's colonization in 1902 created a very advanced Hanoi. He expanded the urban infrastructure lighting, water, and sewer systems. He also gave the city many new buildings such as the Palais du Gouveneur Général, and the Hanoi University. However, this security was only temporary. The French had used the Vietnamese as cheap and unskilled labour. Under the conditions of which they worked, they were often vulnerable to abusive and violent employers. This caused the quality of their work to be exceptionally poor. In 1903, the buildings sustained numerous damages when a typhoon hit Hanoi. This destruction cost 16,000 francs to repair and was blamed on the workers (Doumer 140, 1930). In effect, the French interfered with the economics of Vietnam attempting to achieve a state of economic security, but resultantly, left the Vietnamese in a state of disrepair.
             France's colonization of Vietnam was an extension of its endeavor to maintain world power status in the early twentieth century. During that time, there was another European power; Germany. Clearly behind its traditional rival of industrial development, France could find success only in overseas expansion. The humiliating loss of Alsace-Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian war seeded French expansion overseas. This war was to all intents and purposes, a continuation of Otto von Bismarck's attempt to unify Germany. In 1868, as the Spanish throne became vacant, the state of affairs in Euro...