Talk of peace in Korea had a contagious effect in France, and as a result Paris would be forced to seek an early end to the war, by negotiations if necessary. Dulles countered that in Korea the United States had fought her way to a strong bargaining position and that France needed to do the same; only after the military outlook improved should she enter talks with Ho. Bidault nodded in seeming agreement but offered no assurances, beyond the murky promise that France would “liquidate the war with honor.”12
