We never should have allowed the French back into Indochina after WWII, would have saved us a lot of grief.
If you look into the history of it (not conspiracy theories, but solid documented history) they didn’t want to fight the war there; they didn’t have the means or political will. We coerced them with talk of “containing communism”, and armed them to the teeth - with weapons (including an aircraft carrier) and money. The French honestly believed US airpower would rescue them at Dien Bien Phu, because they were fighting the war at our behest. Before the battle, US advisors and political figures visited the fortress; this was not solely a French effort. If you see footage of French troops in Indochina, they are wearing US helmets, carrying US weapons, and using US radios.
After we abandoned them to their fate, they went their own way; they developed nuclear weapons and never left their defense in the hands of the US and Britain again.