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AFP
Mr. Philippe lit incense on a monument to the dead
The French Prime Minister visited the site of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam in 1954, which resulted in the end of the French presence in Indochina.
Édouard Philippe is the second French leader to go there after President François Mitterrand in 1993.
Mr. Philippe laid flowers on the memorials of the dead on both sides and called for the "common past" of France and Vietnam to be commemorated "peacefully".
The battle of Dien Bien Phu lasted 56 days between March and May 1954.
The numerically inferior French troops, trapped in an isolated valley north of Hanoi, were crushed by Vietnamese independence fighters.
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The battle culminated in the 1954 Geneva peace agreement, which divided Indochina – a French colony at the time – between the communist north and a pro-American regime to the south.
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French positions in the Dien Bien Phu valley were pounded from the hills by Vietnamese artillery
On Saturday, Mr. Philippe visited the former underground command center of France at Dien Bien Phu and lit incense on a commemorative plaque.
"It's hard to imagine that for several months this was the site of intense fighting, rarely seen," he said, adding that he wanted to convey a "message of admiration," respect and pride ".
France is an important trading partner for Vietnam and Philippe started his visit to this country by signing agreements in the capital, Hanoi.
Asked about the critics who questioned his decision to visit the site of an overwhelming defeat for his country, he replied: "What surprises me is that few people have done it before me" .
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