French PM Edouard Philippe begins official visit to Vietnam

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe begins his three-day official visit to Vietnam from November 2 to 4 at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.

He is accompanied by Minister of Solidarity and Health Agnes Buzyn; Minister of Public Action and Accounts Gerald Moussa Darmanin; Minister of State for the Digital Sector, attached to the Minister of Economy and Finance and the Minister of Public Action and Accounts Mounir Mahjoubi; President of the France-Vietnam Friendship Group at the French National Assembly Stephanie Do; and President of the France-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians' Group Catherine Deroche.

The French PM's entourage also includes Member of Parliament for the 11th constituency of French citizens living overseas Anne Genetet; Deputy of Essonne Cedric Villani; President of the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council Patrick Bernasconi; and Chief executive of the French Development Agency Remy Rioux; among others.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe was born on November 28, 1970. He graduated from the Paris Institute of Political Studies in 1992 and from the French Ecole National Administration in 1997. He worked at the Council of State from 1997 to 2002. He was Deputy Mayor of Le Havre in 2001, lawyer at the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in 2005 and advisor to Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy in 2007.

The French PM was also Director of Public Affairs at Areva from 2007 to 2010. He was elected as Mayor of Le Havre in 2010. Edouard Philippe was also a lawyer at the law firm Wilhelm & Associes from 2011 to 2012 and served as a member of the National Assembly representing the 7th constituency of Seine-Maritime in 2012. He was re-elected as Mayor of Le Havre in the 2014. He serves as Prime Minister of France since May 2017.