The Great Depression of the 1930s had a profound impact on Vietnam. The prices of rubber and rice fell, leading to rising rural debts, unemployment and rural uprisings, such as in the provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh. These provinces were among the poorest, had an old radical tradition and have been called the ‘electrical fuses’ of Vietnam.
When the system was under pressure they were the first to blow. The French put these uprisings down with great severity, even used planes to bomb demonstrators.