The Ho–Sainteny agreement, officially the Accord Between France and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, known in Vietnamese as Hiệp định sơ bộ Pháp-Việt, was an agreement made on March 6, 1946, between Ho Chi Minh, President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and Jean Sainteny, Special Envoy of France. It recognized Vietnam as a "Free State" within the French Union, and permitted France to continue stationing troops in North Vietnam. References First Indochina War 1946 in Vietnam Treaties concluded in 1946 Treaties of the Provisional Government of the French Republic Treaties of North Vietnam France–Vietnam relations