Under French rule, Laos was largely left untouched and thus Laotian resistance against France was much weaker than in neighboring Vietnam. It changed when Japan invaded Indochina and anti-French, anti-Japanese movements started to blossom; nonetheless, throughout and after World War II, anti-French resistance didn't strengthen due to differences in ideologies and factional conflicts. By the time the Pathet Lao, led by Prince Souphanouvong and Kaysone Phomvihan emerged, the French had begun the process of retreating from Indochina, and after 1954, link between two countries was insignificant until Laotian economic reforms in 1990s.