Why the French Are Still in Charge of Their Colonies

The French are doing exactly what you'd expect the French to do. They want a strong man in Cambodia who can keep a lid on the communists. So they support King Sehenuk while he arrests nine members of the Democratic Party and imprisons them without trial for plotting against the state. For a colonial power, the more brutal your dictator, the better. That's 100% of the time that's worked. I can't think of a single time where a colonial power backed a dictator and didn't have things work out great.