Bonds of History Give Hanoi a French Flavor : Vietnam: Although they threw out their colonial rulers, they still savor the cultural connection.

They wear wool berets against the winter chill, sit in sidewalk cafes sipping strong, black coffee and prefer the baguette to any other bread.

Sounds like France?

Welcome to Hanoi--a city with tree-lined streets and a continental air that many visitors say conjures up a French provincial town at the turn of the century.

The Vietnamese threw out their colonial rulers almost 40 years ago but savor the cultural connection. They are now building important economic and political links with the old enemy.

In a country short of capital and financial ties to the outside world, French banks are the most active.

Four of the six foreign financial institutions granted licenses to open branches and do business here are from France.

French banks helped finance the renovation of the Metropole, Hanoi’s only luxury hotel, Vietnam’s purchase of Western aircraft and the construction of its first nationwide electric grid.

Other French firms are catching on to Vietnam’s “enormous potential,” says Nicholas du Pasquier, Hanoi representative of Banque Francaise du Commerce Exterieur.

“This year there are new French companies coming. It’s a virgin country. They call it the last frontier in Asia,” he said.

Vietnam trades mostly with other Asian countries. But in Western Europe in 1991, France was the biggest exporter to Vietnam and the second biggest importer after Germany, according to figures from the French Embassy.

French exports to Vietnam jumped from $83 million in the first nine months of 1991 to $145 million in the same period last year.

French imports from Vietnam nearly doubled, from $35 million in the first nine months of 1991 to $64 million in the same 1992 period.

Gilles Hennessy, vice president of the French cognac manufacturer, said during a marketing trip to Vietnam last year that French companies caught on late to Asia’s economic boom but are determined not to lose out here.

“They’ve missed out on the growth in most of the Asian countries. Maybe for once they’ve getting their acts together on time,” he said.

On the diplomatic front, France has helped Vietnam break out of an isolation aggravated by a U.S.-led economic embargo.

Diplomats expect France to step up behind-the-scenes pressure on the United States this year to ease its virtual block on World Bank and International Monetary Fund loans for Vietnam.

Some still question French motives. “Some people say they just want to regain their old influence in Indochina,” said one academic who asked not to be identified.

The cultural influence is already there. The Alliance Francaise that opened last year is the sole Western cultural center in Hanoi and the only such foreign institution that Vietnamese can enter freely, without being stopped by police.

When the French film “The Lover”--one of three French movies made here last year--was launched locally by director Jean-Jacques Annaud, an uncut version of the steamy love story was shown to a private, packed theater of mostly Vietnamese.

“All I can say is: I love you,” Annaud told the audience in Ho Chi Minh City before the film began, to loud applause.

A heavily edited version was later shown in cinemas. But diplomats said the puritanical Communist authorities had shown rare tolerance in allowing the private viewing.