VIETNAM celebrated the 70th anniversary of the battle of Dien Bien Phu today, in which the French colonial army was defeated by Vietnamese troops, ending 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 north-western Vietnam. Their surrender in 1954 meant the end of almost a century of French colonial rule.

Speaking in the city centre, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the historic victory was “a remarkable event — not only for the Vietnamese revolution.