Ceremony to re-attach the memorial plaque of President Ho Chi Minh in Marseille

Photo caption — The Embassy delegation led by Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang attended the ceremony.

According to the VNA correspondent in France, speaking at the ceremony to re-attach the memorial plaque of President Ho Chi Minh, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang emotionally recalled the memory of the Ambassador himself attending the ceremony to attach the memorial plaque of President Ho Chi Minh to the wall of the headquarters of the Marseillaise newspaper in November 2021, on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of Uncle Ho's first arrival in France on his journey to find a way to save the country. The Ambassador expressed his joy at being able to attend the ceremony to re-attach the memorial plaque to its solemn position in front of the Marseillaise newspaper headquarters building, which has now been renovated and repainted much more beautifully.

Mr. Jean Marc Coppola, Deputy Mayor in charge of culture and heritage of Marseille city, affirmed that this is an important event with symbolic significance. Mr. Jean Marc Coppola said that honoring President Ho Chi Minh - who set foot in Marseille in 1911 - has special value when taking place in the oldest city in France with more than 1,600 years of history. According to Mr. Jean Marc Coppola, his journey in Marseille, from working at the port to learning about the West to forging the foundation of social and political ideology, contributed to forming the path to independence and freedom for the Vietnamese people.

Mr. Jean Marc Coppola emphasized that the re-hanging of the memorial plaque at the headquarters of La Marseillaise Newspaper is not only a historical milestone but also becomes part of the cultural journey in Marseille, where people can be proud of their connection with the heritage, history and identity of the city. This event is also considered a symbol of friendship, of the increasingly close bond between the people of Marseille and the people of Vietnam.

Sharing with VNA reporters, La Marseillaise Editor-in-Chief Léo Purguette said that welcoming the Vietnamese Ambassador and re-erecting the memorial stele of President Ho Chi Minh at La Marseillaise headquarters was a great honor for the newspaper. He emphasized that this event has the meaning of innovation, because the stele was re-mounted on the completely renovated facade, demonstrating the progressive spirit that the editorial office wishes to share with Vietnamese friends.

According to Mr. Purguette, the image of President Ho Chi Minh has an international stature, not only as a foreign leader but also as a revolutionary who contributed to the founding of the French Communist Party and left a deep mark in the struggle for human liberation. Therefore, marking the event of his arrival in Marseille right at the headquarters of La Marseillaise has a special meaning. This is a place with a history of struggle, when the newspaper was taken back by resistance fighters from a publication that had collaborated with the fascists. The fact that the city government named it “La Marseillaise Newspaper Square” makes this event a double symbol: both commemorating a historical figure and affirming the values of struggle and freedom associated with the newspaper.

Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang further emphasized that the restoration of the stele in September - the time of the 80th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day - is meant to pay tribute to the national leader, and at the same time recall the solidarity between the people of the two countries, from the French communist movements that supported the Vietnamese revolution to the current close cooperation, when the Vietnam - France relationship has been upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Earlier on the same day, the delegation took the time to attend the “Second Vietnam-France International Acupuncture Conference” held in the city of Sausset-les Pins, adjacent to the port city of Marseille. At the conference, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang highly appreciated the results achieved by the Ministry of Health delegation. This event took place in the context of strong development of medical cooperation between Vietnam and France, associated with cooperation programs to concretize the strategic partnership.

At the conference, medical experts and doctors from both sides had in-depth discussions on cooperation prospects, in which the achievements of the Vietnam Acupuncture Association were highly appreciated by French friends. The Ambassador emphasized that the event not only contributes to spreading traditional medicine but is also in line with Vietnam's current strategic priority of improving the quality of people's health care.

During the visit, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang and his delegation visited Truc Lam Pagoda and met and encouraged the community in Marseille city, as well as worked with the Honorary Consul General of Vietnam in the locality. Delighted with the development of the Vietnamese community in Marseille, the Ambassador highly appreciated the efforts of overseas Vietnamese in Marseille to preserve and promote the national cultural identity. The fact that Truc Lam Pagoda lent its location to open a Vietnamese language class is a remarkable effort. To support the teaching of Vietnamese, the Ambassador presented the Vietnamese Association with a set of Vietnamese language teaching textbooks, with the hope that this activity will be further developed and promoted effectively in preserving and promoting the national cultural identity.

Encouraging people to continue to strive to build a strong community, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang hopes that every Vietnamese person in Marseille needs to make every effort, maintain solidarity within the community, promote the spirit of mutual love and support, integrate well into the local society, and at the same time contribute more to the Vietnam - France friendship as well as to the connection between Marseille and localities of Vietnam, and at the same time contribute to building and spreading Vietnamese culture to international friends.

The increased engagement with the Marseille authorities and neighboring localities in the South of France has contributed to strengthening existing cooperation while seeking new opportunities in the context of dynamically developing bilateral relations. This is a necessary step to expand multi-sectoral cooperation in the future.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/le-gan-lai-bien-tuong-niem-chu-pich-ho-chi-minh-tai-marseille-20250918150211992.htm