ABSTRACT
There was an understandable state of shock in French government circles over the Eisenhower administration paying its aid funds directly to the Diem government rather than through the French. La Chambre, the French minister for the Associated States, complained how this change was contrary to the accords of Washington and would not have become an issue if General Smith had been involved in the discussions. La Chambre warned the Americans of how their increased reliance on Diem’s government was misplaced. He said that it was falling into disrepute and was no longer supported even by the Catholics: outside the major population centers, he warned, ‘the entire country was slipping into the hands of the Viet Minh’.
