However , most Cambodians arrived in France as refugees as a result of their country 's heavy turmoil during the latter half of the 20th century . Following the Khmer Rouge takeover in 1976 , a small number of Cambodians were able to flee their country and arrive in France with the French government 's assistance . A much larger influx of refugees arrived in France during the Cambodian – Vietnamese War that resulted in the collapse of the Khmer Rouge and end of the Cambodian genocide in the 1980s
Cambodian genocide
Cambodian genocide
Cambodians in France