ABSTRACT
The reconsideration of an East-Asian Francophonie beyond Indochina requires an overall examination of Francophone manifestations in all Asian countries. Such an examination must respect in a chronological manner the historical events that occurred on the continent. Accordingly, the Indochinese Union no longer represents the origin of French civilization in Asia; what is more, the history of France in Asia cannot be reduced to the history of French Indochina. On the contrary, this history unfolds in each of the Asian countries that encountered French civilization. Since the journeys to Asia initiated by the Société des Missions-Étrangères of Paris in the seventeenth century, combined with the evangelization carried out by the Compagnie de Jésus, France wrote the first pages of the ups and downs of its salvation mission in the East. Commercial missions immediately followed the lead of other missions to enjoy the glory days of the East India Company. Since then French history and the history of Asia intersect through the spread of French civilization on the continent.
