VIETNAM, April 29 - PARIS — The Vietnamese Embassy in France and the French Communist Party (PCF)’s cell in Saint-Pierre-des-Corps city has held a commemoration of Raymonde Dien, a communist activist, a faithful friend of the Vietnamese people, and also a symbol of the fight against the French war in Việt Nam.

The event took place on April 27 besides the train station of Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, where 74 years ago, Raymonde Dien, a 21-year-old PCF member then, lay on the railway track to block a train carrying weapons to Indochina.

The ceremony was among activities celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Điện Biên Phủ Victory (May 7, 1954 - 2024) and the opening of the Geneva conference on April 26, 1954 that led to the signing of an agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Việt Nam.

In his remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador Đinh Toàn Thắng stressed that the act by Raymonde Dien became a historical symbol and a source of inspiration for a global movement objecting to war and advocating peace and independence for the Vietnamese people.

He expressed profound gratitude from the Vietnamese State and people to Dien as well as other French friends, who contributed to Việt Nam’s peace efforts in the past and the maintenance of solidarity and peace at present.

Việt Nam is aware that international solidarity, especially the relentless support from the French people, during the struggle for independence and peace, formed the solid foundation for the friendship and cooperation between the two countries nowadays, Thắng said, expressing his hope that the two sides will sustain this tradition in the years to come.

Gilles Moindrot, secretary of the PCF cell in Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, described the act by Dien as symbolic, brave and also a demonstration of the solidarity with Việt Nam, support for the Vietnamese’s aspiration for independence, and support for peace for the entire Indochina.

At that time, Dien and other communist activists were convicted by the French government. But only four years later, when the Điện Biên Phủ Campaign ended in 1954, history proved them right and the Geneva Accords put an end to the war between the two countries, he noted.

On this occasion, the embassy also coordinated with historian Alain Ruscio, an expert on Việt Nam, and the PCF cell in Saint-Pierre-des-Corps to hold a seminar on the Điện Biên Phủ Victory and the Geneva Accords. The event attracted nearly 100 participants. — VNS