Untold stories from the sidelines of the Paris Peace Talks

PANO – Mr. Luu Van Loi, Secretary of Special Advisor Le Duc Tho at the Paris Peace Talks, shared the following interesting stories from the sidelines of the talks on ending the war in Vietnam 40 years ago.

Presenting chickens

The love of overseas Vietnamese in France for Vietnamese negotiators at the Paris Peace Talks was very simple but honest. For instance, one Vietnamese lady was married to a French man who had served in the French army in Vietnam. They both loved Vietnam dearly. Every week, the husband drove his car with 50 chickens on board to offer members of the delegation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) at the French Communist Party School on Maurice Thorez Street in Choisy Le Roi. He came so often that he became familiar to the guard and he would open the gate whenever he saw his car coming, not having to ask him his business. The couple kept offering chickens to the Vietnamese negotiators for two consecutive years and the Vietnamese diplomats had to insist that they stop.

Press got a wrong idea

At that time, the press in Paris kept very close watch on every activity of both the Vietnam and US delegations, especially the developments of meetings between Special Advisor Le Duc Tho and US Security Advisor H. Kissinger. Reporters even rented a house next to the conference room and made holes on the roof to take photos. Once, after very tough talks without any progress, Le Duc Tho still came out with a smile. Reporters, judging on his smiling face, gave a positive report on the talk. But when leaders from Hanoi rang and asked about the talk results, Mr. Tho frankly said: “Should I smile or cry while Kissinger tightly shook my hand?”.

Pulling a hoax on reporters

Members of the French Communist Party had whole-heartedly helped the DRV delegation during the Paris Peace Talks. Some used their private cars to support Vietnamese diplomats. In one important talk with the US delegation, Le Duc Tho and the head delegate Xuan Thuy were taken to the chosen location through the rear entrance, while another car also departed from the main entrance to put reporters off the scent. When they realized the trick, Tho and Thuy were already on the way to the secret rendezvous.

Bad intelligence gathering

During the Paris Conference on restoring peace and ending the war in Vietnam, the US at times requested Vietnam to stop deploying troops from the North to the South. The US showed some colour photos shot by satellites as proof that Vietnamese troops were moving to the South through forests. Immediately, Le Duc Tho broke into a laugh and asked why the US still took these photos when Vietnam was no longer sending North Vietnamese soldiers and supplies to the South. Mr. Le Duc Tho even said: “Your intelligence information is bad. Forests are everywhere in Vietnam and they look as alike as peas in a pod. These photos are of troops wearing uniforms with hats and ranks in Northern Vietnam. However, you did not discover when we transported heavy guns and tanks to Saigon. That is why you are defeated.” These photos were not correct because the Vietnamese troops did not wear uniforms on the way to the battle. After that, the DRV delegation held a press conference to expose the US’s plot.

Deaf men at Paris Conference

Head of the DRV delegation Xuan Thuy is famous for his wisdom at the Paris Conference. During meetings with the US from May and November, 1968, the DRV delegation always repeated its requirement that the US should unconditionally stop its bombing of the North Vietnam before moving to other subjects. Meanwhile, the US side wanted to discuss both military and political issues. Thus, these meetings were called “talks of deaf people” by the press. Finally, US President Johnson had to declare an end to the bombing of Northern Vietnam unconditionally due to disadvantage in the battle fields and strong public pressure. After that, in a talk with Thuy, Head of the US delegation Harriman admitted that he had a hearing problem as he was at that time over 80 years old. Mr. Xuan Thuy said that: “Oh, so it makes sense that it took you nearly 6 months to understand a sentence, 'The US has to end the bombing of the North Vietnam'”.