A arewacin kasar, an samar da zaman lafiya cikin kwanciyar hankali yayin tattaunawar, amma a watan Nuwamba, fada ya barke a Haiphong tsakanin gwamnatin Việt Minh da Faransa kan rikicin harajin shigo da kaya a tashar jiragen ruwa.^{[234 <>]} A ranar 23 ga Nuwamba, 1946, jiragen ruwan Faransa sun yi ruwan bama-bamai a sassan birnin Vietnam inda suka kashe fararen hula 6,000 a rana ɗaya.^{[235 <>]} Kasa da makonni biyu bayan harin da aka kai, bayan da ya sami matsin lamba daga Paris don "koyar da Vietnamese darasi" Janar Morlière ya ba da umarnin janyewar Vietnam gaba ɗaya daga birnin, yana buƙatar kwashe dukkanin sojojin Viet Minh daga Haiphong.^[236] A farkon Disamba 1946, Haiphong yana karkashin cikakken mamayar sojojin Faransa.^{[237 <>]} Mummunan ayyukan da Faransawa suka yi game da mamayar Haiphong ya bayyana a idon Viet Minh cewa Faransawa sun yi niyyar ci gaba da zama a ƙasar Vietnam.^{[238 <]} > Barazanar Faransawa na kafa wata ƙasa ta kudanci dabam dabam a Vietnam ta hanyar kewaye birnin Hanoi ya zama babban fifiko ga Viet Minh don magance shi.An ba da wa'adin karshe ga Vietnamese ranar 19 ga Disamba, lokacin da Janar Morlière ya ba da umarnin manyan mayakan Viet Minh, Tu Ve ("kare kai"), da su kwance damara gaba daya.A wannan daren, an kashe duk wutar lantarki a Hanoi kuma garin ya kasance cikin duhu.Vietnamese (musamman ma mayakan Tu Ve) sun kai wa Faransa hari daga cikin Hanoi da bindigogi, manyan bindigogi, da kuma turmi.Dubban sojojin Faransa da fararen hula 'yan Vietnam ne suka rasa rayukansu.Faransawa sun mayar da martani ta hanyar kutsawa Hanoi washegari, wanda ya tilastawa gwamnatin Vietnam mafaka a wajen birnin.Ho Chi Minh da kansa an tilasta masa tserewa daga Hanoi zuwa wani yanki mai nisa.Ana iya siffanta harin a matsayin harin riga-kafin da aka kaiwa Faransawa bayan da aka ci Haiphong ya jefar da ikirarin Vietnam na Hanoi da duk Vietnam.Tashin hankalin da aka yi a Hanoi ya haifar da tashin hankali tsakanin Faransa da Viet Minh zuwa yakin Indochina na farko.