Grand ceremony marks 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory

Braving a rain in the early morning, tens of thousands of local residents and visitors flocked to the stadium and thoroughfares where the parade would move through to witness the event.

The celebration began with a flag raising ceremony and salute cannons, followed by a military parade and a procession of civil forces.

The Dien Bien Phu Victory on May 7, 1954, forced the French colonialists to sit down at the negotiation table to discuss and sign the Geneva Accords on ending the war and restoring peace in Indochina in July 1954, putting an end to the prolonged French colonial rule and heralding a new stage for the revolution in Indochina. This was a great and extremely significant victory in the history of Vietnam.

Under the Geneva Accords, for the first time, the French Government and each state participating in the Geneva Conference pledged to respect the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Vietnam and absolutely not to intervene in the country’s internal affairs. The French troops must withdraw while North Vietnam was completely liberated, embarking on the building of socialism and becoming a large and firm rear for people in the South to push ahead with the struggle for national liberation and reunification./.