Diên Biên Phu : le rapport secret
Dien Bien Phu: the Secret Report
Fifty years ago, the battle of Dien Bien Phu brought the French presence in Indochina to an end. Thousands lay dead in this valley after the French Expeditionary Force was defeated by Vietminh troops. A few months later, two generals clashed, blaming each other of for the debacle. The press threw oil on the fire. General Henri Navarre, commander-in-chief of French forces in Indochina, demanded an official inquiry to rebut the charges of René Cogny, commanding general in Tonkin. The protagonists of the battle, beginning with generals Navarre, Cogny and de Castries, were heard by the inquiry board, along with colonels and unit commanders. Words were heated, below the belt. Following the hearings, the board drew up a report. Its conclusions held General Cogny responsible for the way in which the battle had been conducted. According to the committee, his main error was not to have blindly obeyed the orders of his superior. This film retraces the battle as seen through the prism of criticism established by the committee of inquiry. Its secret report serves as a framework for the testimonies of politicians, who were in Dien Bien Phu before the fighting, as well as soldiers of the expeditionary force, first victims of the rivalry between the two men.
France - 2004 - 57 mn - DV Cam - Colour
Director
Patrick Jeudy
Script
Patrick Jeudy
Camera
Stéphane Saporito, Igor Ochronowitz
Sound
Guy Robertson Rabanrivello
Editing
Barthélémy Vieillot
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Production
Point du Jour,
23, rue de Cronstadt,
75015 Paris, France
Tél : +33 (0)1 7544 8080
E-mail : agence@pointdujour.fr
with the participation of
France 3
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Sales
Point du Jour International,
23, rue de Cronstadt,
75015 Paris, France
Tél : +33 (0)1 75 44 80 80
E-mail : d.weitzel@pointdujour-prod.fr |
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