Vietnamese people in France
Encyclopedia
The Vietnamese people in France consists of people of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

ese ancestry who were born in or immigrated to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. The population is 250,000, as of 2006.

History

The presence of Vietnamese people in France began in the early 1900s, due to the colonization of Vietnam by France
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....

. There was a significant representation of Vietnamese students in France throughout the period, as well as Vietnamese migrants and the sons and daughters of the nobility and royal household. The last Emperor of Vietnam, Bảo Đại
Bảo Đài
Bảo Đài is a commune and village in Lục Nam District, Bac Giang Province, in northeastern Vietnam.-References:...

, received his education in France.
However, after the end of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 in 1975, a larger presence of Vietnamese people arrived in France as refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...

s .

One of the few monuments dating back to the earliest waves of Vietnamese arriving in France is the Temple du Souvenir Indochinois, originally erected in 1907 and subsequently relocated to in the Jardin tropical de Paris.

Unlike their counterparts in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 or Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, the Vietnamese have not formed distinct enclaves within the major cities of France (although many Vietnamese-based shops can be found in the Chinatown neighborhood of Paris) and the degree of assimilation is higher than in the United States
Vietnamese American
A Vietnamese American is an American of Vietnamese descent. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American group....

, Canada
Vietnamese Canadian
Mainstream Vietnamese communities began arriving in Canada in the mid 1970s and early 1980s as refugees or boat people following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, though a couple thousand were already living in Quebec before then, most of whom were students...

, or Australia
Vietnamese Australian
A Vietnamese Australian is an Australian either born in Vietnam or is an Australian descendant of the former. Communities of Overseas Vietnamese are referred to as Việt Kiều or người Việt hải ngoại.-History in Australia:...

, due to better cultural, historical, and linguistic knowledge of the host country.

The community is still strongly attached to its homeland while being well-integrated in the French society
Culture of France
The culture of France and of the French people has been shaped by geography, by profound historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high culture and of decorative arts since the seventeenth...

. As the first generation of French Vietnamese refugees continues to hold on to traditional values, the second generation of French
French nationality law
French nationality law is historically based on the principles of jus soli , according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German's definition of nationality, Jus sanguinis , formalized by Fichte.The 1993 Méhaignerie Law required children born in France of foreign parents to request...

-born Vietnamese strongly identifies with the French culture rather than the Vietnamese one and most of them are unable to speak and/or understand the Vietnamese language
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...

. The level of integration of immigrants and their place in French society have become prominent issues in France in the past decade. French media and politicians generally view the Vietnamese community as a model minority
Model minority
Model minority refers to a minority ethnic, racial, or religious group whose members achieve a higher degree of success than the population average. It is most commonly used to label one ethnic minority higher achieving than another ethnic minority...

, in part because they are represented as having a high degree of integration within the French society as well as economic and academic success. However, demeaning racial stereotypes about Asians (lumping Chinese and Vietnamese people together) are far from uncommon in France. Most of the French Vietnamese live in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 area but a sizeable number also reside in the major urban centers in the south-east of the country, primarily Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

 and Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

.

Culture

The educational system in France, unlike Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and other European countries, doesn't emphasise a multicultural society. As a result, even though first-generation Vietnamese in France try to preserve their culture and use the Vietnamese language within their community, those belonging to the second or third generations know very little about the country of their ancestors and do not use Vietnamese.

In a survey conducted in the 1990s, 41% of those between 11 and 30 years indicated that they grew up in a Buddhist environment, while 28% indicated that they grew up in a Catholic environment.

Holidays observed by the Vietnamese in France include Tết
Tet
Tet can mean:*Tết or Tết Nguyên Đán, the Vietnamese new year**Tet Offensive, a military campaign that began in 1968*Têt in Roussillon, France*Equal temperament, abbreviated as 12-TET, 19-TET and so on...

, Vu Lan
Ghost Festival
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries...

, and the Mid-Autumn Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival , also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival or Zhongqiu Festival, is a popular lunar harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people. A description of the festival first appeared in Rites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou...

. In addition, those who support the Hanoi government also commemorate International Women's Day
International Women's Day
International Women's Day , originally called International Working Women’s Day, is marked on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and...

, the Fall of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...

, and Vietnamese National Day.

Politics

In the early 1980s, the rate of naturalisation of Vietnamese in France was 5%, among the highest rates for immigrants in France (compared with about 0.25% for Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

ns, the largest immigrant community). The 1999 census showed that about 75% of those who held Vietnamese nationality received French citizenship.

While having high rates of naturalisation, they rarely follow French politics, rarely participating in local and national elections. They usually become French citizens for economic rather than political reasons. While they don't follow French politics, they follow Vietnamese politics closely and in the past played pivotal roles in the Vietnamese political landscape in the early 20th century.

After 1975, the Vietnamese community in France is divided into two opposing camps: those supporting the communist Hanoi government and those who are anticommunists. Almost all organisations in the community, including religious and commercial entities, fall in one of the two camps. Those who support the Hanoi government self-identify as "immigrants" while those who are anticommunists self-identify as "refugees". The two camps have contradictory political goals and members of one group rarely interact with members of the other group.

Supporters of the Hanoi government

Those who support the Hanoi government coalesce under the umbrella group Union Général des Vietnamiens de France (UGVF). UGVF is well-organised and is recognised by the government of Vietnam. Members of this group consist of those who arrived in France prior to 1975 and their descendants; they have more stable economic conditions. Many UGVF members are also members of the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...

 while some are members of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Communist Party of Vietnam
The Communist Party of Vietnam , formally established in 1930, is the governing party of the nation of Vietnam. It is today the only legal political party in that country. Describing itself as Marxist-Leninist, the CPV is the directing component of a broader group of organizations known as the...

.

Prior to 1975, the goal of UGVF was to advocate for an end to the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 and to provide support to the Hanoi government. After the communist victory in 1975, many UGVF members planned to repatriate to help rebuild the country, but they were viewed as a threat by the government due to their Western background. Those who were trained in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 were viewed more favorably because they were considered to have more palatable political views. When they return to Vietnam, the Vietnamese from France could not find jobs comparable to those they held in France. From then on, they advocate forming a permanent expatriate community in France. Their goals also changed to maintaining Vietnamese culture for later generations. The French government considers UGVF a communist organisation and their political activities were clandestine until 1981, when they were recognised by the Socialist
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...

 government.

UGVF organises many festivals for major Vietnamese holidays such as Tết
Tet
Tet can mean:*Tết or Tết Nguyên Đán, the Vietnamese new year**Tet Offensive, a military campaign that began in 1968*Têt in Roussillon, France*Equal temperament, abbreviated as 12-TET, 19-TET and so on...

 and the Mid-Autumn Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival , also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival or Zhongqiu Festival, is a popular lunar harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people. A description of the festival first appeared in Rites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou...

. These events always include the presence of the Vietnamese ambassador to France. UGVF members also created many other organisations to compete with the anti-communist groups for the support of the post-1975 refugees within the community. However, these organisations do not clearly state their affiliation with UGVF because many refugees will stop supporting them if they learn about the connections..

While UGVF is not a front
Front organization
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations...

 for Vietnamese communists in France, its political outlook is closely aligned with the Hanoi government. Some French-born UGVF members saw it as too dependent on Hanoi.. They have also started activism on other concerns, such as fighting discrimination.

Anticommunists

Unlike the Hanoi supporters, the anticommunists don't unite under any single group, but they share the same view of opposing the communist regime in Vietnam. Prior to 1975, there were very few anticommunist groups operating in France. After 1975, with the arrival of boat people
Boat people
Boat people is a term that usually refers to refugees, illegal immigrants or asylum seekers who emigrate in numbers in boats that are sometimes old and crudely made...

 refugees in large numbers, their activities dramatically increased.. These groups comprise of refugees arriving in France after 1975, so their economic situation is less stable, and they are not as organised as UGVF.

While UGVF seeks to portray the Vietnamese community in France as a united community supportive of the government, the anticommunist groups seek to inform mainstream French that there are fundamental differences in political views among the community.. They often stage protests against the Vietnamese government, often advocating boycotts against businesses with ties to UGVF.

Vietnamese in other French territories

There have been official reports of some Vietnamese in other territories of the French Republic. In French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...

, the Hmong people
Hmong people
The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...

 are one of the main Asian communities, some originating from Vietnam. In New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

, 1.4% of the population are Vietnamese. In French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...

, the Vietnamese community are part of the 4.7% East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

n community. In Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...

, the Vietnamese people are usually found in Sino-Réunionnais (Chinese people in Réunion) communities.

Notable individuals

  • Hàm Nghi
    Ham Nghi
    Emperor Hàm Nghi ; , was the eighth Emperor of the Vietnamese Nguyễn Dynasty. He reigned for only one year ....

     (1872–1943), eighth Emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty
  • Tran Van Don
    Tran Van Don
    Trần Văn Đôn was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and one of the principal figures in the coup d'état which deposed Ngô Đình Diệm from the presidency of South Vietnam.-Family:...

     (1917-), general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
    Army of the Republic of Vietnam
    The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975...

  • Jacques Vergès
    Jacques Vergès
    Jacques Vergès, born 5 March 1925 in Ubon Ratchathani, Siam , is a French-Vietnamese lawyer who has earned fame continually since the 1950s, first as an anticolonialist communist figure and then for defending a long string of well-known clients from anticolonialist Algerian militant Djamila...

     (1925-), lawyer
  • Thích Nhất Hạnh (1926-), Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist
    Peace activist
    This list of peace activists includes people who proactively advocate diplomatic, non-military resolution of political disputes, usually through nonviolent means.A peace activist is an activist of the peace movement.*Jane Addams*Martti Ahtisaari...

  • Henri Huet
    Henri Huet
    Henri Huet was a French war photographer, noted for his work covering the Vietnam War for Associated Press .- Early life :Huet was born in Da Lat, Vietnam, the son of a Breton engineer and Vietnamese mother...

     (1927–1971), war photographer
  • Jean Van Dinh (1927-), jewellery designer
  • Georges Nguyen Van Loc
    Georges Nguyen Van Loc
    Georges Nguyen Van Loc was a French policeman, actor and author. Nguyen Van Loc worked as a policeman, police inspector and commissioner in his native Marseille for years...

     (1933–2008), policeman, actor and author
  • Bao Long (1936–2007), former head of Nguyễn Dynasty
  • France Nuyen
    France Nuyen
    France Nuyen is a French actress.-Biography:Nuyen was born in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. Her mother was French, her father Vietnamese. During World War II, her mother and grandfather were persecuted by the Nazis for being Gypsies...

     (1939-), actress
  • Bảo Thắng (1943-), current Head of Nguyễn Dynasty
  • Barbara Bui (1956-), fashion designer
  • Melanie Huynh, assistant stylist at French Vogue
  • Anh Dao Traxel
    Anh Dao Traxel
    Anh Dao Traxel is the foster daughter of former French President Jacques Chirac. She was a boat people refugee, and met Jacques Chirac at Roissy Airport in 1979. He told her "Don’t cry, ma chérie. You are coming home with us" and took her home...

     (1958-), writer, foster daughter of former French President Jacques Chirac.
  • Nguyên Lê
    Nguyên Lê
    Nguyên Lê is a French jazz musician and composer of Vietnamese ancestry. His main instrument is guitar, and he also plays electric bass guitar and guitar synthesizer....

     (1959-), jazz musician, composer.
  • Anh Duong (1960-), actress, model.
  • Trần Anh Hùng
    Tran Anh Hung
    Trần Anh Hùng is a French film director of Vietnamese ancestry.He was born in Đà Nẵng, Central Vietnam, and emigrated to France when he was 12 following the fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975....

     (1962-), film director
  • Linda Lê (1963-), writer
  • Emmanuelle Huynh (1963-), dancer and choreographer of contemporary ballet
    Contemporary ballet
    Contemporary ballet is a form of dance which incorporates elements of both classical ballet and modern dance. It takes its technique and use of pointework from classical ballet, although it permits a greater range of movement that may not adhere to the strict body lines set forth by schools of...

  • Steve Tran
    Steve Tran
    Steve Tran is a French Vietnamese film and television actor. He has appeared in numerous titles, and in 2009, he recorded the soundtrack 'We Can Make It' for the film Tricheuse.-Filmography:* Beur sur la ville...

     (1969-), actor.
  • Ngô Bảo Châu
    Ngo Bao Chau
    Ngô Bảo Châu is a Vietnamese and French mathematician at the University of Chicago, best known for proving the fundamental lemma for automorphic forms proposed by Robert Langlands and Diana Shelstad. He is the first Vietnamese to receive the Fields Medal.- Biography :Chau was born in 1972, the...

     (1972-), mathematician and professor, awarded the 2010 Fields Medal
    Fields Medal
    The Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union , a meeting that takes place every four...

  • Linh Dan Pham
    Linh Dan Pham
    Linh Dan Pham is a French actress.She was born in Saigon, South Vietnam, but moved with her family to France a year later just before the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese and Viet Cong's forces and grew up in Paris...

     (1973-), actress.
  • Stéphane Ly-Cuong (1972-), stage and film director
  • Châu Belle Dinh, actor (Yamakasi
    Yamakasi (film)
    Yamakasi - Les samouraïs des temps modernes is a 2001 French movie written by Luc Besson. It demonstrates the skills of the Yamakasi, a group of traceurs who battle against injustice in the Paris ghetto. They use parkour to steal from the rich in order to pay off medical bills for a kid injured...

    ), Parkour
    Parkour
    Parkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...

     practitioner
  • Marjolaine Bui (1981-) model, singer, film actress, television personality.
  • Kim-Thuy Nguyen, singer/pianist/composer of the band INA-ICH.
  • Williams Belle, actor (Yamakasi
    Yamakasi (film)
    Yamakasi - Les samouraïs des temps modernes is a 2001 French movie written by Luc Besson. It demonstrates the skills of the Yamakasi, a group of traceurs who battle against injustice in the Paris ghetto. They use parkour to steal from the rich in order to pay off medical bills for a kid injured...

    ), Parkour
    Parkour
    Parkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...

     practitioner,
  • Gaëtan Réchin Lê Ky-Huong, member of the French power pop
    Power pop
    Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...

     band Pony Pony Run Run
    Pony Pony Run Run
    Pony Pony Run Run are a French power pop band from Angers formed in Nantes in 2003. The band line-up consists of three members named simply "G" , "A" and "T"...

  • Amaël Réchin Lê Ky-Huong, member of the French power pop
    Power pop
    Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...

     band Pony Pony Run Run
    Pony Pony Run Run
    Pony Pony Run Run are a French power pop band from Angers formed in Nantes in 2003. The band line-up consists of three members named simply "G" , "A" and "T"...

  • Leslie
    Leslie (singer)
    Leslie is a French pop-R&B singer born on February 4, 1985 in Le Mans, France. Her father is Vietnamese and Polynesian while her mother is FrenchIn 2007, she recorded a duet single with the R&B singer Bobby Valentino, "Accorde-moi"....

     (1985-), singer
  • François Trinh-Duc
    François Trinh-Duc
    François Trinh-Duc is a French rugby union player for Montpellier Hérault RC in France's top division of rugby union, the Top 14. Trinh-Duc's regular position is at fly-half or outside centre.-Biography:...

     (1986-), rugby union player
  • Yohan Cabaye
    Yohan Cabaye
    Yohan Cabaye is a French international footballer player who plays for English club Newcastle United in the Premier League and the French national team. He plays as a box-to-box midfielder and is described as a player who possesses "excellent vision, great ball control", and "provides technical...

     (1986-), football player
  • Onra
    Onra
    Arnaud Bernard, better known by his stage name Onra is a French hip hop beatmaker based in Paris.-Biography:Onra released his first album with producer and friend Quetzal in 2006, A Hip-Hop Tribute to Soul Music, which was played several times by Gilles Peterson and Benji B and covered on...

    , musician
  • Aurélie Nguyen (1987-), also known as Little (singer), French-Vietnamese singer
  • Renaud Le Van Kim (??-), producer, director, creator of the popular talk show Le Grand Journal (Canal+)
    Le Grand Journal (Canal+)
    Le Grand Journal is a French nightly news and talk show airing every weekday evening on Canal+. Debuting on August 30, 2004, it was created and hosted by Michel Denisot. Originally a one-hour program, it expanded to two hours in 2005. Even though the show is broadcast on the premium channel Canal+,...

  • Kim Pham (??-), assistant managing director of the public national television broadcaster France Télévisions
    France Télévisions
    France Télévisions is the French public national television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the bringing together of the public television channels France 2 and France 3 , later joined by the legally independent channels France 5 , France Ô , and France 4 France Télévisions ...

  • Xavier de Rosnay (1982-), one half of the electronic music duo Justice
    Justice (French band)
    Justice is a French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay . The duo is one of the most successful groups on Ed Banger Records and is managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter...

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