The incumbent resident general in Cambodia complains…

The incumbent resident general in Cambodia complains to Paris in 1897 that Norodom is no longer capable of ruling and receives permission to assume the king's authority to issue decrees, collect taxes, and appoint royal officials.

Norodom and his successors are left with hollow, figurehead roles as head of state and as patron of the Buddhist religion.

The colonial bureaucracy expands rapidly.

French nationals naturally hold the highest positions, but even on the lower rungs of the bureaucracy Cambodians find few opportunities because the colonial government prefers to hire Vietnamese.