The three-hour rally was held to mark the International Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare.

During the meeting, material and photos of Vietnamese AO victims were distributed to French people and visitors to help them understand the heavy consequences of the US-waged war that many Vietnamese people have still suffered over the past three decades.

Joining the meeting, Mark Cramer, a member of the Americans Against the War, said that the consequences of war, including impacts of Agent Orange/Dioxin, are terrible and unacceptable. He demanded that Vietnamese AO/Dioxin victims receive assistance and compensation.

A French marcher recalled his visits to Vietnam where he saw with own eyes the miserable lives of children affected by the toxic chemical.

“It is really a crime and we should do something to help the victims,” he said.

Talking to a Paris-based VOV correspondent, journalist Andre Gattolin voiced his support for the Vietnamese AO victims’ struggle for justice.

“It is terrible. Every time I see these photos, I cannot control my emotion.......  These victims need assistance and sympathy from everybody. I think the US should bear responsibility for Vietnamese AO/Dioxin victims.”

Hundreds of French people and visitors at the meeting signed a list of supporters of Vietnamese AO/Dioxin victims’ lawsuit against US chemical companies.

In recent times, Collectif Vietnam Dioxine has organised many activities to bring pressure to bear upon the US Government and called for support from the French Government and other countries.

Vo Dinh Kim, a coordinator of Collectif Vietnam Dioxine, said his organisation is gathering signatures for an appeal, which will be sent to the US Embassy in Paris on June 18, 2007 – the date set for the hearing at the US Court of Appeal relating to the Vietnamese victims’ lawsuit against US chemical firms. The organisation has recorded voices of several famous figures sharing sympathy with the victims, which will also be sent to the embassy.

In addition, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers in France has collected more than 600 signatures in support of Vietnamese victims. 

Later in the day, Collectif Vietnam Dioxine in coordination with the Vietnamese People Association in France screened the film “The Last Ghost of War”. The film depicts the lives of AO child victims in Vietnam and their struggle for compensation from US chemical firms.