396.1 GE/4–2754: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Department of State
Secto 16. Repeated information London 76, Paris 126, Saigon 5. Margerie states what French Government hopes to obtain in Indochina is not “cease–fire” but “armistice”. He described difference as being that cease–fire merely meant local laying down of arms, which in case of Indochina would be tantamount to French surrender, while armistice as in case of Korea provided safeguards and political as well as military conditions. He regretted expression “cease–fire” had come to be so widely used of late and hoped it would be possible to get word “armistice” into press usage in its place.
While some suggestions as to possible partition arrangements had been made in French Government and considered, Bidault was as of now by no means prepared to accept them. He regretted publicity on favorable British disposition toward partition as doing less than no good and as having prompted Bao Dai’s explosive statement.1 He added incidentally that Vietnamese representative expected here had not arrived and that only communication delegation had with them was through Foreign Office.
- Reference is to the Apr. 25 statement by the Bao Dai cabinet. See footnote 1, p. 584.↩