French woman seeks birth mother in Vietnam

Melisande Jacquet, 32, whose Vietnamese name is Chu Thi Hoa, is continuing her search for her birth mother with little more than a faded copy of her birth certificate.

“I regret having no information about my birth mother. I will not give up hope, even though I know this journey will not be easy,” she told Dantri/Dtinews.

She was born on September 11, 1994, at Tu Liem Medical Centre in Hanoi. Her birth certificate lists no parental details. She was later abandoned and taken to an orphanage.

At just over two weeks old, she was adopted by a French couple and brought to Paris, where she was given the name Melisande.

Her childhood was filled with care and affection from her adoptive parents, who were unable to have children of their own. From an early age, they told her she had been adopted.

However, it was not until secondary school that she began to feel a sense of loss, noticing differences in her appearance, including her hair colour, compared with classmates.

“After turning 18, I began to think more deeply and often felt anxious about being abandoned again. For many years, I had to face these challenges alone and encourage myself to move forward,” she said.

Melisande now works in real estate and lives alone in Paris. As she matured, her desire to find her birth mother in Vietnam grew stronger.

“Even surrounded by love from my adoptive parents and the bustle of Paris, I still feel that a piece of my life is missing. That missing piece is my origin,” she said.

Her adoptive parents have supported her search, which began in earnest after her first return to Vietnam in 2025.

“I was worried I had been away from my homeland for too long to feel any connection. But everything exceeded my expectations. I fell in love with Hanoi from the very first days because of a sense of familiarity I cannot fully explain,” she said.

After returning to France, her family had an emotional conversation, during which she saw her birth certificate for the first time, a document her parents had preserved for three decades.

Holding the timeworn paper, she found renewed hope of a family reunion.

In November 2025, she returned to Hanoi to begin her search, connecting with Arthur Charaire, a French film director who had successfully found his birth mother in Vietnam with the help of Dantri.

“Arthur Charaire’s story, with its happy ending, gave me more hope,” she said.

On her third trip to Vietnam after the lunar new year 2026, she continued tracing every clue, visiting locations and meeting people mentioned on her birth certificate.

She recently met the man who had registered her birth, but he was unable to provide further details.

“I only know that my birth mother was a young woman who gave birth at the hospital and quietly left,” she said.

On the eve of leaving Hanoi, she admitted uncertainty about what lies ahead, as the clues remain scarce.

She said she has never resented her birth mother, believing that decision allowed her to have a better life in France.

“The reason why my mother left me is no longer important. I only hope she is living a happy and peaceful life,” she said.