HÀ NỘI — Documents and images related to the life of President Hồ Chí Minh and his revolutionary activities in France are on display at an exhibition in the French capital Paris.

Hồ Chí Minh – World Cultural Celebrity opened on March 31 at the head office of UNESCO in France on the occasion of the visit of Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân, Chairwoman of the National Assembly.

On show are 100 precious documents and photos collected from Việt Nam, France, Russia, and the US and preserved at the State Records and Archives Department and the Hồ Chí Minh Presidential Palace Historical Site.

“President Hồ was not only a great leader of the Vietnamese but is also respected by peace lovers over the world,” Đặng Thanh Tùng, head of the State Records and Archives Department, said.

“He visited many countries, but France was the country where he established patriotic movements of overseas Vietnamese. He also set up diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and France.

“So these documents displayed at the exhibition reflect important periods in the revolutionary life of President Hồ.

“We can understand more about his devotion to national liberation and his love for overseas Vietnamese in France.”

When the exhibition closes in May, all the items will be donated to the Vietnamese association in France to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

It will continue to use the artefacts to help Vietnamese living abroad understand about the former leader and the country’s revolution.

Ngân laid flowers at the Hồ Chí Minh monument, planted a sapling and visited the Hồ Chí Minh Space in Montreau park in Montreuil city.

The Hồ Chí Minh Space was inaugurated on May 19, 2000, to mark his 110th birth anniversary. It is designed like a 10sq.m house at Compoint Lane where President Hồ lived between 1921 and 1923 under the alias Nguyễn Ái Quốc.

It has some belongings of President Hồ, his letters to members of the French Communist Party, newspapers, and photos. — VNS