<P> In March 1882, Captain Henri Rivière again visited Hanoi with three gunboats and 700 men in order to obtain a trade agreement . Following some provocations, Rivière captured Hanoi in April 1882 . Again the Black Flags counter-attacked, and Rivière was killed in May 1883 in the Battle of Paper Bridge, leading to a huge movement in favour of a massive armed intervention in France . Credits were voted for, and a large force of 4,000 men and 29 warships (including 4 ironclads) was sent . Admiral Amédée Courbet would be leading the force in Tonkin, while Admiral Meyer would operate in China . </P> <P> Following a failed ultimatum, on 18--19 August 1883, Courbet bombarded the forts of the capital of Huế . The forts were occupied on the 20th . The gunboats Lynx and Vipère reached the capital . On August 25, the Vietnamese court accepted to sign the Treaty of Hué (1883), A French protectorate over the remaining of Vietnam (Annam and Tonkin) was recognized through the treaty . </P> <P> The next objective of the French was to take full control of the Tonkin . In October 1883, Courbet was placed in command of the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps . In December 1883, he led the Sơn Tây Campaign against the Black Flags . French casualties were heavy (83 dead and 320 wounded), but the Black Flags were very weakened as a result of the campaign . </P> <P> The Bắc Ninh Campaign (March 1884) was one of a series of clashes between French and Chinese forces in Tonkin (northern Vietnam) in the period . The campaign, which lasted from 6 to 24 March, resulted in the French capture of Bắc Ninh and the complete defeat of China's Guangxi Army . </P>

Historical and modern relationship between france and vietnam