Ourmemoryto history often seems to be in rhythm. 50yearsoftime after the battle ofDien Bien Phu re-incarnates the scene of the bloodshedwar that we don't forget and never forget.
He survived the 1954 Battle of DienBienPhu, where French troops were surrounded and defeated by the forces of the Vietnamese Communists, the Viet Minh.
But as Herve Morin this week becomes the first French defence minister to visit Vietnam since DienBienPhu, the country's foreign and defence ministries have rejected Gen Bigeard's last request.
Gen Bigeard was a commanding officer during the battle of DienBienPhu in 1954, where French troops were surrounded and defeated by the forces of the Vietnamese Communists, the Viet Minh.