Between Colony and Metropole: Repatriation of Vietnamese Workers from Post-war France

Immediately before World War II, approximately 20,000 people were sent from Indochina to France as workers. Once the war had ended, the repatriation of these workers was an obligation for the new French government and an earnest desire for the majority of workers. When France made clear its confrontational stance towards the Viet Minh government, many workers revolted against the French policy that hindered the independence of their home country. Managing these “contending” workers within France subsequently became a complex issue for France. The financial burden was also a problem, and the French government, anxious about workers expanding their anticolonial movements, sought for their swift repatriation. However, following the onset and escalation of the Indochina War, smooth execution of such plans proved difficult to achieve. The repatriation of workers from Viet Minh–controlled zones posed significant problems in particular. France feared that once returned, these people would assist the Viet Minh and join the resistance against France. The colonial authorities were concerned about this issue, and disagreements occasionally erupted between the French domestic government, who hoped to merely “offload” the workers, and the colonial authorities, who wished to actually control the effects of worker repatriation in Indochina. Yet, after the repatriation, colonial authorities, seeking to lessen the burden of handling workers, “offloaded” them in turn by forcing this responsibility onto the local Vietnamese governments under French control. Friction arose between the two sides: the Vietnamese frequently opposed the French, who would make many demands, especially to control workers from Viet Minh zones, but refuse to take any further financial responsibility. During the war, mobilisation of local citizens in a colony was a policy employed by the metropole to strengthen the unity of the empire. After the war however, France was required to spend a great amount of effort in order to settle the debt created by this policy.