How long were the French in Vietnam?

Question

I know when they left but i do not know when they came and started to colonize

Answer 1

they came and and overstay their welcome.
1884-1954.
The french left the area after their defeat at Ðiện Biên Phủ.
Still bitter they divided Vietnam into 2 halves causing war and lives of many people.

Down with the french for hundreds of years of exploitation

Answer 2

You may be confused by the different dates given by "gfd_truck7" and "Jadeite" in their answers. They are both correct, in a way.

To clarify for you how the French came to IndoChina and started to colonize, here is the timeline, taken from the source listed below: -

WESTERN INFLUENCES AFFECT THE NGUYEN DYNASTY

1842 The Opium Wars give Europeans control over China through a series of unequal treaties; including the Treaty of Nanking.
1845 USS Constitution lands in Da Nang. A company of US Marines moves overland to Hue and rescues a French Bishop who had been captured by the Vietnamese. America's first combat involvement in Vietnam; 120 years later two battalions of US Marines will return to Vietnam via Da Nang.
1847 French vessels bombard Da Nang in response to persecution of Catholic missionaries.
2 Sep 1858 Authorized by Napoleon III to launch a naval expedition to punish the Vietnamese and force them to accept a French protectorate, French and Spanish forces seized Da Nang (in their second attack) after several missionaries had been killed.
17 Feb 1859 French forces capture Saigon.
1861 Military resistance begins against the French. French gain control of Gia Dinh.
Feb. 1861 The French defeat the Vietnamese army and gain control of Gia Dinh and surrounding provinces.

TREATY OF SAIGON 1862 AND FRENCH COLONIZATION

June 5, 1862 The Treaty of Saigon ceded three southern provinces (Bien Hoa, Gia Dinh, and Dinh Tuong in the Mekong Delta) to the French.
1867 France had conquered all of southern Vietnam, which became the French colony of Cochin China.
1883 French troops move to northern Vietnam to expand control of Indochina. The Chinese also lay claim to Vietnam, and oppose the French move prompting the Sino-French War over Indochina .
1884 Annam and Tonkin become French Protectorates.
1885 France wins the Sino-French War, and completes French control over Vietnam and other Indochina domains.
1887 Cambodia joins the French holdings in Vietnam to form French Indochina (the Indochina Union).
1893 Laos is added to French Indochina.

Answer 3

They arrived in 1858 aka Indochina for many years

Answer 4

I believe actively from '58 till '63 when we relieved them militarily.