Question

How did French colonial rule affect Vietnam Cambodia and Laos in the years before independence

Answer 1

Essentially, the effect was negative.

French Indochina, the name of the Colony that encompassed the three modern countries, was called a Colony of Exploitation, which means that the French had no interest in investing in it, but only exploited its resources. They established a monopoly on any trade in the region, and forced the locals to pay taxes to them, without investing these taxes into the local infrastructure.