At a ceremony marking the official naming of Do Huu Vi Square. Photo: VNA

A small square in the center of the 16th arrondissement of Paris now bears the name of Do Huu Vi, a Vietnamese national who was one of the first pilots of the French army.

Do Huu Vi Square is located at the intersection between Versailles Avenue and Quai Louis-Blériot, overlooking the Radio France headquarters and Grenelle bridge.

Vi (1883-1916) fought and died in the Somme Bay during World War I. He was honored by France as one of more than 300 people of diaspora with meritorious services to the European nation. He was the only representative of Asian descent to be included in the exhibition ‘Portraits de France’ at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris earlier this year.

There are currently about 200 streets and landmarks in France named after Vietnamese places or people.

                                                                                                                                   Vietnam News Agency