Paris (VNA) – Madame Ngo Phuong Ly, spouse of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam, met with French Minister of Culture Catherine Pégard in Paris on September 10 during the Vietnamese leader's official visit to France. Madame Ly praised the French minister and her colleagues for their commitment to cultural affairs, stressing that Vietnam, with its long history and rich cultural identity, wishes to bring Vietnamese culture closer to not only the French people but also international audiences.
Expressing her pleasure at returning to France and witnessing growing cultural ties between the two countries, she called for stronger exchanges between Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and France's Ministry of Culture.
Madame Ly suggested the two sides explore new ideas and step up cooperation through the French Institute in Vietnam, the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in France and the two countries' embassies to effectively advance ongoing and future projects.
Following the Vietnamese Film Week in France in 2025, Madame Ly put forth the idea of holding a Vietnamese Theatre Week in France in October, featuring water puppetry, musical theatre, contemporary dance and excerpts from traditional Vietnamese performances.
The programme is expected to take place at renowned cultural and artistic venues in Paris, offering French audiences a vibrant showcase of Vietnamese performing arts. Vietnamese agencies are working on preparations and hope to receive continued support from their French partners, she said.
Pégard welcomed the initiative, saying it would provide a practical platform to promote culture and strengthen exchanges, particularly with the participation of French directors.
The minister reaffirmed her commitment to further enhancing cultural cooperation between the two countries, recalling a multi-sector cooperation programme signed by the two culture ministries in 2024.
A number of joint activities have since produced positive results, including cooperation between the Royal Opera of Versailles and Hanoi's Ho Guom Opera House, she noted.
The Vietnamese side, meanwhile, proposed expanding successful cooperation models to more specialised cultural fields, providing additional valuable documents related to President Ho Chi Minh, supporting Vietnamese cinema's promotion at the Cannes Film Festival, and establishing partnerships between specialised cultural institutions in the two countries.
Vietnam also invited France to send a delegation to the second World Culture Festival, scheduled to take place in Hanoi in early October, as well as judges and films to the 7th Hanoi International Film Festival in November.
Agreeing with Vietnam's proposals, Pégard suggested the two sides exchange letters confirming specific cooperation projects in the coming period. She also proposed organising reciprocal exhibitions in both countries to promote cultural exchanges.
Highlighting the importance of combining heritage preservation with innovation in cultural and creative industries, the French minister shared outcomes of a recent cinema summit and called for stronger collaboration in these areas.
Following the meeting, the French Ministry of Culture held a ceremony to return a Dong Son bronze drum from the Museum of Fine Arts in Rennes to Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Madame Ly witnessed the handover ceremony, which was also attended by Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong and Nguyen Thi Van Anh, Head of Vietnam's Delegation to UNESCO in Paris.
Pégard highlighted culture's central role in the longstanding human and intellectual ties between Vietnam and France, saying both countries deeply understand the value of cultural heritage as a core element of national identity and dialogue among nations.
The handover of the bronze drum demonstrated the two countries' shared respect for cultural heritage and would help further strengthen the Vietnam-France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, she said.
Echoing the French minister's views, Dong said the return of the artefact was more than the repatriation of a valuable antiquity, but it was the return of a heritage symbol, a sacred part of Vietnam's cultural soul.
French scientists have dated the Dong Son bronze drum to around the 5th century BC. The artefact stands 40.7 centimetres high, measures 54.5 centimetres in diameter and weighs 17.2kg.
It was seized by customs officers at Rennes airport in 2014 due to a lack of valid documentation and was later transferred to the Museum of Fine Arts in Rennes for preservation and research.
Later the same day, Madame Ly and Madame Brigitte Macron, spouse of French President Emmanuel Macron, visited the National School of Fine Arts in Paris.
Founded in 1817, the school has trained generations of renowned painters, sculptors and architects and houses one of France's largest public collections, with more than 450,000 artefacts, books and works of art./.
