 Diệm 's victory was seen as a blow to French stature in Vietnam , as the former colonial power had helped to set up Bảo Đại 's State of Vietnam in 1949 . They consistently opposed Diệm and his policies , and unsuccessfully tried to impede him . The U.S. media regarded Diệm 's victory as a signal that the United States would be the only Western power in South Vietnam . Some felt that this would enable Diệm to rule effectively without French hindrance , while others felt that this would leave too much of a burden on the American government . The French media and diplomatic corps viewed the result as a humiliation . Before the poll , French officials had privately predicted Diệm would dissolve the French High Command and use any victory as justification for scrapping the national reunification elections . The French media viewed the poll as undemocratic and a plot by the Americans to sabotage any prospect of national reunification , but France recognised the Republic of Vietnam soon after . 
