Hello there,
In 1881, there was a French expedition to Madagascar to establish a protectorate. It was nicknamed the "Fantom Protectorate" until the 1890's.
It seems there was some light fighting in 1881 with a coupl naval bombardment but nothing too heavy.
But what if the French had gone heavier or had faced heavier resistance? Would they go in? What would be the impact on other colonial wars (Tonkin in 1884 comes to mind)?