Vietnam celebrates 70th anniversary of battle of Dien Bien Phu, end of French colonial rule [Video]

• May 7, 2024, marked the 70th anniversary of the battle of Dien Bien Phu, when Vietnamese troops defeated the French colonial army, ending almost a century of French colonial rule.
• A commemoration ceremony was held at a stadium in the center of Dien Bien Phu, which is now a bustling city of more than 80,000 people.
• French Defense Minister Sebastian Lecornu also attended. He is the highest-ranking French official to visit the former battlefield and attend the commemoration.

Vietnam on Tuesday celebrated the 70th anniversary of the battle of Dien Bien Phu in which the French colonial army was defeated by Vietnamese troops, marking the end of the French occupation of Indochina.

At Dien Bien Phu, Vietnamese troops led by General Vo Nguyen Giap, surprised French forces with heavy artillery fire at their mountainous garrison in northwestern Vietnam.

When Dien Bien Phu fell in 1954, it spelled the end of almost …