In March 1945, during World War II, the Japanese army executed several French engineers and civilians, whose graves are now located in the military square of the Poissy cemetery.
A year later, on March 21, 1946, the town of Thakhek, Laos, was reportedly the site of a massacre perpetrated by the French army. After retaking the city from Vietminh-backed Pathet Lao communist fighters, French forces reportedly killed between 1,500 and 3,000 civilians, mostly Vietnamese. According to Laotian reports, many of these victims were thrown into a well.
