Ho–Sainteny Agreement

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.