France
Following its occupation of Vietnam, France absorbed Laos into French Indochina via treaties with Siam in 1893 and 1904. During World War II, the Japanese occupied French Indochina. When Japan surrendered, Lao nationalists declared Laos independent, but by early 1946, French troops had reoccupied the country and conferred limited autonomy on Laos. During the First Indochina War, the Indochinese Communist Party formed the Pathet Lao resistance organization committed to Lao independence. Laos gained full independence following the French defeat by the Vietnamese communists and the subsequent Geneva peace conference in 1954.
Today, Laos maintains an embassy in Paris. France maintains an embassy in Vientiane.