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Background: Mr Murphy, the American State Department Official entrusted with carrying out the American part of the good offices procedure in the Franco-Tunisian dispute, arrived in Paris this evening, having lunched in Tunis with President Bourguiba.

He said on leaving Tunis that he was very encouraged by his cordial discussions with Mr Bourguiba and the Tunisian Ministers, and he thought that in the present situation there were no problems that capable and far-seeing statesmen could not solve. Yesterday, in Tunis, Mr Murphy conferred with the British, French, Belgian, and Italian ambassadors to Tunisia, as well as with the Moroccan and Spanish representatives.

Latest events may have somewhat belied Mr Murphys sanguine view of things. Since Tuesday, when he arrived in Tunis, Franco-Tunisian relations have worsened, and the number of incidents, such as the expulsion of French citizens from Tunisia, has increased.