The Cambodian community in France consists mainly of Khmers who fled Cambodia during the Vietnam War , although some Cambodians arrived in France back when Cambodia was under a French protectorate (1863–1953). Then, when the situation stabilized after the Cambodian-Vietnamese war , and the country opened its borders, in the 1990s, Cambodians traveled to France as part of a family reunion.
In the Cambodian community in France, Buddhism plays a key role, which is a sign of national identity, while the ability to speak Khmer is much less important. Although immigrant parents soon organized language schools for their children after arrival, many children did not study Khmer because of difficulties in learning Khmer grammar and the Sanskrit-based Khmer alphabet . Cambodians in France, according to statistics, are generally older, more educated, and richer than Cambodians in the United States.
Although Khmer is the largest percentage of French Cambodians, Cambodians of Chinese descent are also represented in large numbers. Although in Cambodia interethnic marriages between the Chinese and Khmer were very common, and often happen in France, the Chinese prefer to unite according to the linguistic principle, and are kept apart from other Cambodians.
A small group of Cambodians in France consists of wives of French colonialists and French children from mixed marriages repatriated to France in 1955-1965. Many of them use Khmer rather than French as their everyday language .