Reaction To The 1963 South Vietnamese Coup - French Reaction

French Reaction

One of the main arguments put forward by the junta in the aftermath of the coup was that it was necessary to prevent Diệm and Nhu from doing a deal with Hanoi to neutralize Vietnam. This was picked up by The New York Times which editorialized: "Fortunately the new Vietnamese rulers are pledged to stand with the free world. It is significant that one of their charges against Mr. Nhu is that he tried to make a deal with Communist North Vietnam along the lines hinted at by President de Gaulle".

On 4 November, the U.S. State Department directed the American ambassador in Paris to point out to de Gaulle "our feeling that change in regime ends any thought in Saigon of accommodation with North Vietnam on basis of neutralization which idea previous regime may have toyed with". The U.S. conveyed to the French that they felt that military success was much more probable with Diệm and Nhu gone, removing the need for peace talks with North Vietnam.

For de Gaulle, however, the fall of Diệm and his regime was a blow to French influence in Saigon and ended prospects for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. De Gaulle considered this to be a personal affront, since he did not believe that Hanoi and the Vietcong were pawns of international communism. De Gaulle had wanted to open diplomatic relations with communist China and did so in January 1964. The American ambassador told de Gaulle that the new regime in Saigon would have better prospects of a thaw in relations with Laos and Cambodia, and asked the French to use their influence in Phnom Penh to help. Norodom Sihanouk, the Cambodian prince, had disliked Diệm but also worried that the Americans were responsible.