“The success of French arms is complete.” (But didn’t the Viet Minh control huge swaths of territory in Tonkin and Annam? a skeptical reporter asked. Yes, Coste-Floret allowed, but the territory in question was sparsely populated and would count for little in the end.) “Talks” with Ho Chi Minh were fine, he and others believed, so long as they concerned the modalities of the Viet Minh’s surrender.
