From 7 to 12 September 2026, General Secretary and President Tô Lâm and his spouse, Mrs Ngô Phương Ly, made a state visit to Russia and an official visit to the Republic of France, and attended the Space Summit in Paris at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.

The delegation arrived in Paris on the morning of 10 September (local time), and that same evening, President Emmanuel Macron and his wife hosted a solemn state dinner at the Élysée Palace to welcome General Secretary and President Tô Lâm, his spouse, and the high-level Vietnamese delegation. The official welcome ceremony was held at the Hôtel des Invalides, Paris.

During the visit, Vietnam and France issued a Joint Statement affirming that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries continues to develop strongly and substantively, nearly two years after the relationship was upgraded, with new directions for cooperation in renewable energy, green transition, science and technology, education and culture. President Emmanuel Macron also awarded General Secretary and President Tô Lâm the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, the highest distinction of the French State.

Mrs Ngô Phương Ly, together with French First Lady Brigitte Macron, visited the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris — one of the cultural highlights of the visit. The delegation also laid flowers at the statue of President Hồ Chí Minh in Montreau park and met with Embassy staff and representatives of the Vietnamese community in France.

Notably, Mrs Ngô Phương Ly is also the guest of honour at the Vietnam–UNESCO Gala within Việt Nam en Scène, an event marking 50 years of Vietnam–UNESCO relations, to be held at the Grand Rex in Paris on 28 October 2026. This state visit, carried out in a spirit of solidarity and trust between the two nations, further underlines the significance of a theatre week where Vietnamese and French artists come together in dialogue — precisely the spirit that Việt Nam en Scène 2026 seeks to convey.

With just over a month to go, the Vietnamese Theatre Week in France — Việt Nam en Scène 2026 — will officially open in Paris (24–31 October 2026). These days, preparations are moving forward at full speed on both the Vietnamese and French sides.

In Hanoi and Đà Nẵng, the participating companies — the Vietnam Drama Theatre, the Vietnam National Traditional Theatre, the Đà Nẵng Traditional Arts Theatre, the Vietnam Puppetry Theatre, and the Vietnam Opera and Ballet Theatre — are putting the finishing touches on the Chèo, Tuồng, Cải lương and water puppetry excerpts they will bring to Paris. Every movement and every melody is being refined to suit a new performance space, thousands of kilometres from home.

In Paris, the technical crew is working with partner venues — Théâtre Marigny, Théâtre de la Tour Eiffel, Carreau du Temple and the Grand Rex — to prepare the stage, lighting and sound for each programme. This is also the stage when French and Vietnamese artists rehearse together on the bilateral co-productions Trương Chi (Winterreise Compagnie Théâtre) and The Soul of Trương Ba, in the Butcher’s Skin (directed by Anne Bouvier with the Vietnam Youth Theatre) — a process that calls for constant listening and adjustment between two different theatrical languages.

The organisers — under the patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnamese Embassy in France, and the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to UNESCO — report that all logistics, from transporting props and costumes to performance visas for the touring companies, are being finalised on schedule. Despite the tight timeline, the organisers are confident that each programme will retain its full artistic spirit and quality when it reaches audiences in Paris.

Việt Nam en Scène 2026 will keep sharing the latest behind-the-scenes updates in the coming weeks, as the opening night on 24 October draws near.