851G.00/7–1847: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Caffery) to the Secretary of State
2865. Deptel 2621, July 16. New York Times dispatch from Paris, July 13, re Indo-China is believed to give fairly accurate but superficial presentation of present French thinking. French policy in recent months has centered on attempt to get around dilemma with which they are faced, to wit, (a) Ho Chi-Minh is only native leader with any widespread following and support; (b) French are convinced events [Page 119] of December 19 proved Ho Chi-Minh cannot be trusted and any government headed by him would be under Communist control.
High Commissioner Bollaert’s activities during his stay in Indo-China show clearly his main objective was to find other elements or groups of elements with which French could safely deal (see Saigon’s excellent despatch 256, June 14). Judging by info recently received in Paris from Ministry of Overseas France and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bollaert’s efforts have not been crowned with success and there is considerable soul-searching going on among officials connected with Indo-Chinese affairs as to what next step should be with growing awareness of seriousness of situation both from French and international point of view.