The French Forts and other military installations in Laos
In the past Laos was a protectorate of the French and it formed part of the French Colonial Empire in Southeast Asia. Laos consisted of much of the territory of the former kingdom of Lane Xang and was part of French Indochina from 1893 until it was granted self-rule within the French Union in 1946. The Franco-Lao Treaty of 1953 established Laos as an independent member of the French Union and under the Geneva Conference following France's withdrawal from Indochina after the First Indochina War, Laos was granted independence in 1954. Part of the history of the French in Laos can be seen in the form of the former military outposts like forts etc. The French army, in Lao language often called the "Falang" used the forts to protect the country from outsiders like the Thai as the latter often were squabbling with the French about ownership of parts of areas in what is now like the areas west of the Mekong (Xayaboury and Champasak), etc.
The expansion of French Indochina (in blue) - Source: Wikipedia -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Indochina
British view of the relationship between the French and Thailand then called Siam as shown in this cartoon from 1893
While generally only two forts are being mentioned in the literature as still existing in Laos (
Fort Carnot in Houayxay and the fort in Mueang Sing), in fact there are a few more although most of these are only in the form of a few parts of the buildings still standing. These consist of
Fort Kai Falang in Boun Tai (now used by the District Department of Culture, Information and Tourism) and the remnants (gate and watch-tower) in
Thakhaek. There might be more "left-overs" of the French time but these are the ones I have seen and visited myself. Another building mentioned in the literature or on websites is a
military base in Luang Namtha (south of the airport) which in 1954 saw an attack by the the communist led Vietminh, the
French Officers Club in Vientiane (now demolished for as far as I know),
The Xeno (Seno)Military Airbase in Savannakhet (now a Lao military base and off limits to outsiders), the French Military Cemetery in Vientiane, etc.
French army base in Luang Nam Tha near the airport and a group of Lao soldiers in a unit of the French Colonial Guard
The following are just some pictures and notes about the forts, etc. which I have seen during my travels in Laos as well as pictures and notes about other things related to the French Army while they holding sway in Laos.
Fort Carnot - Houayxay
Within the town of Houayxay you can explore Fort Carnot, a French garrison which is still in reasonable good condition (N20.27205 E100.41521) although at present it looks like that it slowly slides back to its old and dilapidated shape. Fort Carnot was constructed by the French colonial authorities around 1900 in order to monitor the river and border areas and for that reason it was positioned on a hilltop from where you can overlook the Mekong, the town as well as part of Thailand.
Still intact are two watch towers, a kitchen and prison cell, and tunnels leading to external guard houses. Off limits to foreign tourists up until very recently as it was still being used by the Lao army, the site is a picturesque relic of the region's turbulent history. The north block of the fort which is thought to have been the kitchen and jail, has been developed into a museum but due to budgetary and manpower problems of the Tourism Department of Bokeo Province, the museum as well as the fort are now again closed.
The building at Fort Carnot which houses the Museum
Fort in Mueang Sing
Mueang Sing is home to the other more well-known French Forts in Laos. The fort, located at N21.18829 E101.14824 behind the police station, is now occupied by the Lao army. It is/was off-limit to foreigners who also should refrain from taking photographs of the old buildings. Apparently the old Fort buildings are now (2015) open for tourists according to
http://www.muangsingtravel.com/ms_info/History_of_Old_Falangs_Trail.html
The same soure (
http://www.muangsingtravel.com/activities/trekking_namha/2_day_falang_trail.html) indicates that you can now also make a trek from Mueang Sing to Luang Namtha following the "Falang Trail" which was used by the French army while travelling from Mueang Sing to Luang Namtha and Houayxay. However, after the Lao People's Democratic Republic was established in 1975, the "Falang Trail" came under Laos government control and they closed the trail. Now, some 50 years later the Laos government has agreed to open the trail for trekking
Map of Falang Trail - Source: http://www.muangsingtravel.com/ms_info/History_of_Old_Falangs_Trail.html
Two of the other French forts which seldom if ever mentioned on the tourist information site
Fort in Boun Tai
Fort Kai Falang in Boun Tai (now used by the District Department of Culture, Information and Tourism) at coordinates: N21.38941 E101.97451
Fort Kai Falang in Boun Tai
Fort in Thakhaek
The fort here from the time the French ruled the area is in danger of disappearing. In Thakheak only the gate and parts of the ramparts are still standing but the area where the fort was located looks like it had been cleared completely (construction site?) and the gate might disappear.
The gate and a watch tower are the only things left of the former French Fort in Thakhaek
Just a few of the other French military related left-overs:
Another French military base which still exists but which is off-limits to the public is the SENO (Xeno) Base and Airfield east of Savannakhet. By the way, SENO stands in French for Sud - Est - Nord - Ouest or South-East-North-West in English
Another remnant of the past - the French Military Cemetary in Vientiane
So, what will be the future of these historice buildings? That is difficult to say and much will depend on if the Lao people will be interested in their heritage and are willing to preserve the little what is still standing. Fort Carnot has been restored within the context of the ADB funded "Laos Sustainable Tourism Development Project" but it seems that the "push" to restore the building was (in my opinion) more based on foreign and a little bit of local interests in creating a site which tourists might want to visit rather than safeguarding the history of Laos. The restoration has not been finished completely and the Bokeo Provincial Tourism Department, which was running the Museum located in one of the restored buildings, has now closed the museum as well as the Fort due to a lack of funds, manpower and maybe interest.
Some of the things which were shown in the Museum in Fort Carnot:
The same happened with other buildings like for instance the old French "Cercle des Officiers" building (French Officers Club) in Vientiane as well as other heritage buildings. Local groups like the Bolisat Anulak Heuan Lao Jumgaht (also known as Unique Lao Properties) which was founded in 2002 to help families retain ownership of their irreplaceable buildings through a long-term cost-sharing program indicate that "each year many interesting and sometimes historic structures are lost to neglect and economic necessity". While Laos and Vientiane have laws intended to prevent the loss of these buildings, unfortunately these laws are hard to enforce in times of rapid economic growth and land speculation.
One of the buildings Anulak Heuan Lao try (tried) to save is the French Officers Club. It now looks like that the building might be demolished and a highrise hotel might re-appear on the same site (
http://uniquelaos.com/cercle.htm)
Could this happen also with the military forts? I sure do not hope so but then again Fort Carnot is located on a piece of "prime real estate" with fantastic views over the Mekong and I would not be surprised if in due course the fort disappears and a hotel, residences or office building would appear instead.
So, if you are in the neighborhood, have a look before these historical buildings or whatever is left of them disappear forever
Source of Information used:
Franco-Siamese War - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Inspector_Grosgurin#Killing_of_Inspector_Grosgurin
French Protectorate of Laos - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Protectorate_of_Laos
Historic pictures of Fort Carnot - http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/We...tml:bad=error/badfetch.html&entityimageSize=l
Into Vietnam through the Phongsali border finger - http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...ietnam-through-phongsali-border-finger-4.html
Another mapping trip this time in the North of Laos - http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...317-another-mapping-trip-time-north-laos.html and About Luang Namtha - Things to See and Do - http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...on/2013-about-luang-namtha-things-see-do.html
Bokeo - Things to See and Do - http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/general-information/1996-bokeo-things-see-do.html
Phongsaly - Things to See and Do - http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/general-information/2051-phongsaly-things-see-do.html
http://www.mp.haw-hamburg.de/pers/Kaspar-Sickermann/mgsing/emgs10v1.html
http://uniquelaos.com/cercle.htm