Vietnamese in France Gather to Mark 50 Years of Paris Peace Accords

UGVF President Vuong Huu Nhan speaks at the event. Photo: NDO

The General Union of Vietnamese in France (UGVF) on May 13 held a get-together and a photo exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam (Paris Peace Accords) (January 27, 1973), VNA reported Sunday.

UGVF President Vuong Huu Nhan said that the get-together aimed to share memories of a heroic period at the UGVF’s headquarters at No.16 on Petit Musc street, Paris – an important venue for negotiations on the Paris Peace Accords 50 years ago.

He emphasized that the patriotic movement of Vietnamese people in France, of which the UGVF at that time was the core, greatly contributed to the agreement signing.

At the event, the UGVF introduced file photos featuring negotiation sessions towards the signing of the agreement, and several books on Vietnamese history.

Photo: NDO

The Paris Peace Accords was the result of the longest and most difficult struggle in the history of Vietnam’s diplomacy, with over 202 public meetings held over four years, eight months and 14 days. Photo: NDO

The difficult and complicated Paris negotiations lasted for nearly five years. The agreement was initialed by Special Advisor Le Duc Tho of the delegation of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and US Advisor Henry Kissinger on January 22, 1973.

The Paris Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam was signed on January 27, 1973 by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, the Republic of Vietnam, and the US, after 201 open sessions, 45 high-level private talks, 24 secret meetings, 500 press conferences, 1,000 interviews and hundreds of get-togethers in support of Vietnam. During that time, patriotic overseas Vietnamese in France made a significant contribution as “a special force” to the work of the two negotiating teams and mobilised public opinion to support Vietnam.

The agreement put an end to the longest and most difficult struggle in the history of Vietnam’s diplomacy.

To reach the Paris Peace Accords, nearly 250 open and secret meetings took place from March 1968 to January 1973, making this the longest diplomatic negotiation of Vietnam and the world in the 20th century. More than 40 secret sessions were held in Choisy-le-Roi, Gif-sur-Yvette, and Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche cities in the suburbs of Paris. Photo: NDO

Thousands of overseas Vietnamese in the Paris metropolitan area and many other places in France participated in supporting the two negotiating teams in the inner and outer rounds. And there are also those who quietly contribute to activities serving the negotiation team and public opinion mobilisation in both the Paris metropolitan area and in the provinces and cities across France.

Each person has a job, whether secretly or publicly, such as getting autographs to support the end of the American War in Vietnam, campaigning and participating in rallies in support of the Vietnamese delegation.

In order to review the contributions of the Vietnamese community and French friends in the negotiation process, the UGVF held a meeting with members who had supported the two negotiating teams and even French friends who participated in the negotiations to support Vietnam.

Hannah Nguyen

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