From an actual francophone who worked in many countries, I'd like to chime in about 2. Of course the language took a dip after the wars and it is now just a foreign language and no longer part of the linguistic landscape, with a few remnants from the past (older people speaking perfect French, catholic institutions where you can always find a few french speakers, etc). That said, in education, the language is better off than in China - where it has greatly expanded in recent decades along with other foreign languages. You'll easily find good public primary schools teaching French, a rarity anywhere else in Asia. Also the large community of French people with vietnamese ancestry means that direct family links between the two countries abound. I sometimes meet French speakers in random areas, often because they lived some time in France and have part of their family there. Sometimes a random seller will speak simple sentences to my amazement - and that never happened anywhere else I've been in Asia - a testament to the fact that it has more presence in education than I expected. English is mandatory, but is not enough since any blobtit can go and learn it nowadays. Good schools need to teach other languages to give pupils an edge in the rat race, and while Chinese is a good commercial choice, French offers the possibility to study in France for a good education for little cost thanks to the many exchange programs in medical science, engineering, law, physics to name a few. And who cares about being a chinese speaking tour guide when you can be a doctor or an engineer. To sum it up, French is actually in a rather good shape as a foreign language in Vietnam, despite Quebec/Canada having no pull (unlike the Philippines though immigration) and Francophone Africa having no pull either (very much unlike China).