Vive la difference, says Vietnam

The Francophone Summit is in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, with leaders from the more than 40 nations having private discussions. It's the largest international gathering of its kind ever staged in Hanoi and the city has been especially dressed up for the occasion. And as Enver Solomon reports from the Vietnamese capital, the country's communist rulers have also been keen to show off their long-lost French identity:

After Vietnam's Communist Party defeated the French more than 40 years ago, it made every attempt to rid the country of its colonial past. The only leftovers have been the French bread sold on the streets and the decaying French architecture. Life has been dominated by Communist ideology and the thoughts of the country's great revolutionary leader, Ho Chi Minh. But in recent weeks the authorities have suddenly developed a desire to show-off the country's long-lost French identity. The capital's splendid ornate opera house, modelled on the one in Paris, has been renovated and taxi drivers have been mastering basic French language skills. It's part of the country's new image, cultivated for the Francophone Summit. The government wants to impress its guest. Traffic lights have been installed on Hanoi's streets, traders have been cleared off the pavements and buildings across the city have been given a new coat of paint. Hanoi is now looking wonderfully clean and tidy. There's no doubt that this display of a new passion for French culture is simply to insure that the Summit is a success. But there are also important financial incentives. France and Canada have given the government more than $50 million. It's a reflection of the new pragmatic thinking in Vietnam's Communist Party which says that history shouldn't stand in the way of doing business.

BBC, Nov 17, 1997

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