Sarraut is criticised in this account for treating French culture as the standard a colonised society would have to meet before independence. Vietnam supplies the example: the stated demand amounts to becoming French in almost every respect. Such a position leaves little recognition for an independent local political or cultural identity. The administrative criticism concerns what public declarations of that kind do to relations with the people being governed. The example connects a colonial minister's stated expectations with the practical difficulty of securing cooperation.
Notable Point · 2:33:08-2:35:11
Sarraut's assimilation policy and colonial administration
The discussion of Sarraut considers the political consequences of making French cultural assimilation a condition for colonial independence.