成泰帝
The French chargé d'affaires, Mr. Silvain Levecque was the man who wanted to bring down Emperor Thành Thái and replace him with someone more pliant. He was not the Resident Superior but he was rather in charge of current affairs while the French appointed a Resident Superior. Levecque had prepared a list of mandarins for promotion to the different ministries. However, he did not consult with the emperor and instead merely presented Emperor Thành Thái with the memorandum for promotion. This enraged the emperor and made him feel even more like a puppet. When Thành Thái refused to sign, Levecque insisted that Thành Thái should abdicate to a Council of Regents.