Roger Laloulette, the French ambassador in Saigon, had been recalled to Paris for consultations in mid September following a spate of press reports detailing his support for a North-South agreement and alleging that he was leaning on other western diplomats to back Nhu against the Americans. Without him on the scene—he would in fact never return to Saigon—France’s capacity for direct influence on the GVN had been diminished.
