751G.00/7–654: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Dillon) to the Department of State
priority
50. Repeated information London 11, Saigon 8, Geneva 4. Re Deptel 4853.1 Parodi this morning gave me French reaction to US–UK terms for Indochina settlement. He said the terms generally parallel present French position and are welcomed by French Government. However, they have one important reservation in that they consider that paragraphs 4 and 5 may be mutually contradictory.
French feel that eventual agreement will have to contain provisions for elections which would comply with paragraph 5 of US–UK agreement. However, if elections should go wrong way, this would seem to contradict paragraph 4 of US–UK agreement, which says there should be no political provisions which would risk loss of the retained area. [Page 1786] Accordingly, they request clarification from us as to US and UK position regarding elections.
In addition Parodi said that French do not fully understand what we mean when we say we would be willing to “respect” agreement. Parodi said that the word “respect” seemed weak and unclear and French would like clarification if at all possible.