The visit also saw the signing of a major deal for the purchase of 20 Airbus planes by the budget Vietnamese airline VietJet.

France and Vietnam signed a deal for 20 Airbus planes, among other pacts, as President Emmanuel Macron visited Hanoi seeking to boost France's influence in its former colony.

During a joint press conference with his Vietnamese counterpart, Luong Cuong, in Hanoi, Macron stressed the importance of a rule-based order “at a time of both great imbalance and a return to power-dr