From left to right: French Culture Minister Catherine Pégard, the spouse of Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm, Ngô Phương Ly, and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tạ Quang Đông. — Photo from the International Cooperation Department

PARIS — France has returned a 2,500-year-old Đông Sơn bronze drum to Việt Nam, handing over one of the country's most treasured cultural symbols at a ceremony timed to coincide with a state visit to Paris by the Vietnamese top leader.

The handover took place on Thursday (local time) at the French Ministry of Culture as Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm and his spouse are on an official visit to France.

French Culture Minister Catherine Pégard, addressing the ceremony, said the drum's return reflected the shared value both nations place on cultural heritage and would help strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between France and Việt Nam.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tạ Quang Đông echoed those remarks, calling the drum's homecoming the return of a cultural symbol rather than simply the recovery of an antique.

He thanked the French government, ministries, customs authorities and the Museum of Fine Arts of Rennes for preserving and authenticating the artefact, and singled out the Vietnamese Embassy in Paris, particularly Ambassador Trịnh Đức Hải, for their role in securing its return.

The bronze drum being repatriated. — Photo icd.gov.vn

Đông said the handover demonstrated deepening cooperation between the two countries on heritage preservation and aligned with a broader international movement, backed by UNESCO, to repatriate cultural artifacts to their countries of origin.

He also described it as a step toward mending historical continuity disrupted by war and upheaval.

The bronze drum, dated by French experts to around the 5th century BC, stands 40.7 centimetres tall, measures 54.5 centimetres in diameter and weighs 17.2 kilogrammes.

French customs officers seized it at Rennes airport in 2014 after it was found without valid documentation, and it has been held and studied at the Rennes museum for more than a decade since.

Officials from both countries described its return as a marker of political trust and friendship between France and Việt Nam, as well as a joint success in the global fight against illicit trafficking in cultural artifacts.

Also present at the ceremony were Ngô Phương Ly, the spouse of Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm, and Nguyễn Thị Vân Anh, head of Việt Nam's permanent delegation to UNESCO in Paris. — VNS