Chronicle: Memories and nostalgia surrounding the French language in the kingdom of smiles

When I landed at Pochentong Airport on 25 July 1973, I was struck by the stifling heat and intense humidity. This oppressive heat was accompanied by a persistent, striking, indefinable and captivating smell. This fervent mixture revealed the many scents present on this continent. These fragrances, which can be detected no matter what country you are in, remain the same across borders. Invisible and subtle, they crept into my nostrils, penetrating me without my knowledge, and I was under the spell of Asia.

French charm

Charm, yes! But a charm that would surprise me! I discovered that all the signs, street names, shop signs and administrative buildings were written in French, sometimes in Khmer, bearing witness to the French presence during the protectorate. Even stranger, I was astonished to find that many teenagers, as well as their parents, were all bilingual, even in the deepest provinces and not just in the big cities. And that all administrative procedures were carried out in the language of Molière.

‘Who was this fairy who rocked the little ones to sleep in a language from the other side of the world?’

From 1930 to 1970, the French language played a predominant role in primary and secondary education. However, the history of French education in Cambodia is not as old as the protectorate itself. France's involvement, as defined by the treaty signed in Oudong on 11 August 1863, was superficial and precarious, excluding education, which at the time was limited to pagoda schools.

First school

It was not until ten years later that the idea of colonising a people by imposing a language on them took root in the mind of the governor of Indochina. It was therefore important not to teach the language only to the notables and the ruling classes; it had to be taught to all the children of the people, girls as well as boys.

"The first French school in Cambodia was established in 1873. It was founded in Phnom Penh by infantry officer Ferreyrolles. Some of the school's pupils continued their studies in France and formed the first group of administrators trained in European methods."

In the years that followed, on the initiative of senior residents and provincial governors, elementary schools were opened in the main cities of Cambodia.

In 1903, the École pratique d'industrie (Practical School of Industry) was created, which later became a technical college. In 1911, the Local Education Service was established and took over the management of some thirty schools. At that time, municipalities were authorised to establish schools in their districts. Until then, schools had been the responsibility of senior residents. Keen to train the auxiliaries it needed for its colonial work, the French administration founded the Collège du Protectorat, which, after various changes, became the Lycée Sisowath (1933).

Plan for Indochina

In 1918, Governor-General Albert Sarraut approved a school plan applicable to all parts of Indochina (Tonkin, Annam, Cochinchina, Cambodia, Laos). The reform did away with previous regulations and established a general policy aimed at establishing a stable status for education. The plan provided for French children residing in Indochina to receive an education that was identical to that provided in France, and for Indochinese children, a parallel education in French, with six years of primary school, followed by four years of upper primary school and then three years of secondary school, culminating in a baccalaureate equivalent to the French baccalaureate and giving access to universities in Indochina and France.

Thus, in 1930, there were 203 municipal schools teaching French. These were gradually transformed into official schools administered by the state.

‘Then the Sarraut plan was applied to all Cambodian schools, imposing French as the language of instruction, with the same curriculum as in France.’

René Descartes High School

In October 1950, Le Grand Lycée (now known as Lycée René Descartes) opened its doors and was officially inaugurated in March 1951 in the presence of Albert Sarraut. In thirty-two years, the circle was complete, and Albert Sarraut could see and appreciate the fruits of his plan, as the language of Molière was being taught in every province.

Thus, young Khmer teenagers from the 1930s to the 1970s received an education in French that included mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics, history, geography and geometry. This was supplemented by the study of French civilisation and the two world wars.

When I talked to these young people, they told me that they were studying French literature: Bazin (Vipère au poing), Victor Hugo (poems to Léopoldine), Jean de La Fontaine (fables), or George Sand (La Mare au diable) and many others. They would discuss the works of these great authors, playing with words and their homonyms, such as ‘tou’ t, “tou” s, mentioning the last consonant, or ‘tou’ x followed by a cough... They had a playful way of learning and I enjoyed talking to them.

It is true that I was rubbing shoulders with young intellectuals. But it is also true that, throughout the kingdom, the French language occupied four-fifths of the school day, no less than 25 hours per week, while only five hours were reserved for Khmer and two for English. And the students only spoke French to their teachers; there was no question of apologising or asking for anything in Khmer. Back home, young students could enjoy their mother tongue without restrictions.

Abandonment

In 1964, the royal government decided to abolish French lessons, considering that, from an educational point of view, the mother tongue was the only effective means of transmitting knowledge from teacher to student. The royal government drew up a six-year plan, with each year seeing one class abandon French in favour of Khmer.

Thus, from 1964 to 1967, it was primary school. Then, from 1968 to 1970, it was secondary school (first cycle).

On 18 March 1970, a coup d'état led by General Lon Nol deposed Prince Norodom Sihanouk as head of state. This was followed by Norodom Sihanouk's appeal to the people on 23 March to join the revolutionaries and rise up against the usurper. These two events triggered a civil war that would put an end to French language teaching in Cambodian schools, with the exception of a few schools, such as the René Descartes French high school, the Sisowath high school and a few others, which resisted but were forced to close their doors in early 1974.

It was in the grounds of the René Descartes High School, deserted by teachers and students for a year, that my parents organised our wedding, my Khmer wife and I, on 7 January 1975.

Nostalgia, you've got us in your grip.

Jean Kroussar