1954, an air of renewed lightness reigns in France. However, on the other side of the world, the Indochina War is at its height. It pits the French colonial power against the communist Viet Minh of Ho Chi Minh who proclaimed his independence in 1946. At the heart of the Cold War, the stakes are high: containing the expansion of communism. As such, although having no troops on the ground, the United States provides substantial material aid to France.
In metropolitan France, citizens feel little concerned by this distant war. A newfound carefree attitude dominates. And yet, this war is only the tip of the iceberg: “from the peace signed in Indochina to the armed uprisings in Algeria, these are the 100 days that crack the French empire and announce in this year 1954, the end of a world” recalls the director of the documentary.
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu or the beginning of the end
On March 13, 1954, the Viet Minh launched an offensive against France in the Dien Bien Phu region. Thwarting the colonial power’s assurance, it would take the Vietnamese no more than 57 days to win the battle hands down. Although the French were not very interested in what was happening on the front in Indochina, 60% of them still wanted this war to end. Pierre Mendès-France, who became President of the Council of the Fourth Republic and Minister of Foreign Affairs in June 1954, was one of its spokespersons.
Benjamin Stora, a historian specializing in colonization, explains: “ [Pierre Mendès-France] showed that the colonial question functioned as a kind of archaism in French political history, and appeared as a brake on the “modernization” of the country. In this capacity, he was a major player in the Geneva conference which began in April 1954 to find a way out of the bogged down conflict in Indochina.
On May 7, the French expeditionary force was officially defeated. The troops withdrew. The Geneva Accords were then signed on July 20, establishing the independence of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. On his return to France, he was welcomed as a hero, as the man who had put an end to the Indochinese quagmire.
The regained independence in Indochina inspired Tunisian, Moroccan and Algerian nationalists. In November 1954, Algeria was hit by a series of attacks. Eight years of war for independence began, pitting the National Liberation Front against the French colonial empire. In April 1955, the Bandung Conference created a new world order where the powers of yesteryear must now deal with the emerging powers from recently decolonized territories: the Third World.
Watch the documentary “1954, the end of the world” by Ben Salama and Benjamin Stora in replay on our website here.
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