As Vietnam celebrates the 80th anniversary of its declaration of independence from colonial rule this week, French cultural influence remains ubiquitous, but not many people in the Southeast Asian nation are aware of its prevalence.

A massive military parade will herald on Tuesday the independence proclaimed by revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh on Sept 2, 1945, which was meant to end nearly a century of French rule but instead started a decade-long war until the defeated French eventually left in 1954.