The Ho–Sainteny Agreement, officially the Accords between France and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, known in Vietnamese as Hiệp định sơ bộ Pháp–Việt and in French as Convention préliminaire, was a preliminary treaty signed to initially confirm Vietnam's membership within the French Union on 6 March 1946, between Hồ Chí Minh, President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), and Jean Sainteny, French commissioner north of the 16th parallel of Indochina. Hồ was also leader of the Viet Minh, the organization de facto leading the DRV. Before that, on 24 March 1945, in its declaration, France planned a major democratic reform of its colonial rule in Indochina (including Vietnam) to make here a neo-colony, based on the Brazzaville Conference of Free France in February 1944. The first official use of the term "French Union" appeared in this declaration. Initially the DRV was not recognized by any country, while French sovereignty over Indochina was recognized by the victorious Allies.
After the Potsdam Conference, Indochina was divided along the 16th parallel to allow the Allies to enter and disarm the Japanese army; the Chinese took responsibility for the North. This agreement was seen as necessary for the Viet Minh because China had allowed the French army to advance Indochina north of the 16th parallel in February. Before that, the French army returned to the South with British help and Allied recognition. Franco-British coalition had conflicts with the Vietnamese factions (including Viet Minh) and won. Negotiations between France and the Viet Minh started with the agreement. It was effective north of the 16th parallel of Vietnam and came into force right after signing. It recognized Vietnam as a free state within the French Union and Indochinese Federation, and permitted France to continue stationing troops in Vietnam north of the 16th parallel. France agreed to hold a referendum in Cochinchina on reunification with Vietnam.
However, the French Union was only established on 27 October 1946 with the new French constitution. Before an official treaty could take effect, Vietnam was still French protectorates including Tonkin (Northern Vietnam) and Annam (Central Vietnam) while Cochinchina (Southern Vietnam) was still directly ruled by France. Although the agreement was also signed by another member of the Vietnamese government, Vũ Hồng Khanh, leader of the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng and Vice Chairman of the Resistance Committee; the agreement was strongly attacked by non-Viet Minh opposition groups. Meanwhile, the French High Commissioner in Indochina, Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu, criticized the agreement for being soft on the Viet Minh. Subsequent negotiations between the two sides broke down due to the hardline attitudes of both sides, leading to the First Indochina War between them on 19 December 1946.
Content Here is full text of the treaty:Hồ Chí Minh. Toàn tập. Tập 4. Nhà xuất bản Chính trị Quốc gia. 2000. trang 324–326
PRELIMINARY AGREEMENT
On one side is the Government of the French Republic, represented by Mr. Sainteny, who is officially authorized by Admiral George Thierry d'Argenlieu, the French High Commissioner, authorized by the Government of the French Republic.
On one side is the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam represented by President Ho Chi Minh and special commissioner of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Vu Hong Khanh.
The two parties have agreed on the following terms:
1) The French Government recognizes the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as a free state with its own Government, Parliament, army, and finances, and as a member of the Indochinese Federation within the French Union. Regarding the unification of the three regions, the French Government undertakes to recognize the decisions of the people directly.
2) The Government of Vietnam declares its readiness to amicably welcome the French army when it comes, in accordance with international agreements, to replace the Chinese army. An annex to this Preliminary Agreement will specify the manner in which this replacement will be carried out.
3) The above provisions shall be put into effect immediately. After the signing of the agreement, the two Governments shall immediately decide on all necessary measures to bring the hostilities to an immediate end, to maintain the troops in their present positions and to create the atmosphere of calm necessary for the immediate opening of friendly and sincere negotiations. These negotiations shall deal with:
a) Vietnam's diplomatic relations with foreign countries.
b) The future regime of Indochina.
c) French economic and cultural interests in Vietnam.
The cities of Hanoi, Saigon, and Paris can be chosen as the conference venues.
APPENDIX
Pursuant to the Preliminary Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of Vietnam, the two Governments mentioned in the Preliminary Agreement have agreed on the following provisions:
1) The military forces that will replace the Chinese army will include:
a) 10,000 Vietnamese troops with Vietnamese officers under the command of Vietnamese military authorities.
b) 15,000 French troops, including the French soldiers currently stationed in Vietnam north of the 16th parallel. Those 15,000 French soldiers had to be genuine French, except for the troops in charge of guarding Japanese prisoners of war. The total of the above forces will be placed under the command of the French Commander with the collaboration of Vietnamese troops. Once the French troops have landed, a Staff Conference consisting of representatives of the French High Command and the Vietnamese High Command will determine the progress, introduction, and employment of the French troops and the aforementioned Vietnamese troops. Franco-Vietnamese Military Affairs Committees will be established at all military levels to liaise between French and Vietnamese soldiers in a spirit of friendly cooperation.
2) The French troops used to replace the Chinese army will be divided into 3 categories:
a) The teams in charge of guarding Japanese prisoners of war: these teams will withdraw to France as soon as their task is completed, that is, after the Japanese prisoners of war have been taken out of this country; in any case, this period must not exceed 10 months.
b) The troops, together with the Vietnamese army, are responsible for the police and defense of Vietnam: every year, one-fifth (1/5) of the troops will return to France to be replaced by the Vietnamese army. So in 5 years, the Vietnamese army will replace all of these French troops.
c) Troops in charge of defending naval and air bases: the duration of the tasks assigned to these troops will be decided by subsequent conferences.
3) In the garrisons where French and Vietnamese troops are stationed, separate areas for both sides will be clearly defined.
4) The French Government pledges not to use Japanese prisoners of war for military purposes.
Post-accords After this agreement took effect, the French army in Indochina led by General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque entered Hanoi on 18 March 1946. He favored a moderate solution. During the time, many French and American politicians were willing to believe that Ho was part of a Soviet plan to dominate the world, but Leclerc warned that "anti-communism will be a useless tool unless the problem of nationalism is resolved." His advice was simple: "Negotiate at all costs!" Realizing that France would lose the war, he even recommended that the French should grant independence to Vietnam in the worst case in order to keep Vietnam within the French Union to ensure French economic and cultural interests. At the time, French right-wing supported keeping Indochina. The Ho-Sainteny agreement was never confirmed because it disappointed people on both sides. Ho's immense prestige largely silenced Vietnamese dissent, but the agreement caused a serious split within the French side. French businessmen, planters, and officials in Saigon were "indignant at the prospect of losing their colonial privileges." On March 24, the French High Commissioner in Indochina Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu invited President Ho Chi Minh to hold talks in Ha Long Bay to discuss and agree on issues before holding a preparatory conference in Da Lat on the condition that French delegation must be sent by the Government from France. A preliminary conference on the future of Vietnam was held in April in Da Lat but failed due to the tough stance of both: the disagreement was particularly acute regarding the status of Cochinchina. Ho Chi Minh relied primarily on an official conference to be held in the Paris area that both sides agreed with Vietnamese delegation led by Phạm Văn Đồng. Shortly before leaving and with the aim of expanding his fighting base, he founded the Liên Việt, an alliance that was supposed to bring together all nationalists and, although de facto dominated by the Viet Minh, drew on members of other groups such as the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (VNQDĐ). A conference was held from 6 July to September in Fontainebleau (France). The two sides harshly argued about Vietnam's status within the French Union and the Indochinese Federation as well as Cochinchinese future, with many aspects. Neither side was willing to compromise at the negotiating table. At the meetings, Ho Chi Minh's delegation pushed for Vietnamese independence but the French would not agree to this proposal. France only accepted Vietnam's autonomy or "independence" within the unequal framework of the French Union. The most controversial issue was Cochinchina (not part of Vietnam) when France established an autonomous republic led by Nguyễn Văn Thinh there by d'Argenlieu on June 1 while the manner and timing of holding a referendum on its future were not specified by France in the conference. On June 3, 1946, Thinh and the French commissioner south of the 16th parallel of Indochina, Cédille, signed the Saigon preliminary treaty recognizing Cochinchina as a free state within the Indochinese Federation and the French Union. The Viet Minh, a de facto communist-dominated political alliance, carried out a campaign of repression against nationalists and Trotskyites from August 1945. The Viet Minh de facto led the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), self-proclaimed on 2 September 1945. In North Vietnam, after the complete withdrawal of Chinese troops in June 1946, the Viet Minh with French support intensified its repression of pro-Chinese nationalist factions although Kuomintang's China had previously pressured the Viet Minh to share power in the parliament and government with the pro-Chinese Việt Cách and VNQDĐ. China also received a bribe of gold from the Viet Minh, so it gave Japanese weapons to the Viet Minh. The coalition government in Vietnam collapsed. Meanwhile, in July 1946, Jean Valluy replaced Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque.