The meal, the third of its kind after those in March andMay, was participated by more than 90 people, including Vietnamese Ambassador toFrance Dinh Toan Thang and MP Sandrine Rousseau of the Europe Écologie lesVerts (EELV) - Green Party.
Nga said she was happy and felt touched when seeing a largenumber of overseas Vietnamese and French friends attending this event.
She stated that this is a great honour and encouragement forher in this arduous and long battle.
In 2014, Nga, who used to be a war correspondent in southVietnam during wartime, sued the multinational companies, including Monsanto -Bayer, that produced or supplied herbicides for the US during the war inVietnam.
On May 10, 2021, the Crown Court of Evry city in the suburbsof Paris rejected her lawsuit, saying it did not have jurisdiction to hear thecase, a ruling that disappointed the Vietnamese and international public.
However, Nga and her lawyers decided to file an appeal, andthe struggle for justice for AO/dioxin victims is still underway.
From 1961 to 1971, the US army sprayed 80 million litres ofherbicides which contained about 400kg of dioxin - one of the most toxicsubstances, on Vietnam. Over the last 60 years, effects of this deadly chemicalhave still lingered in land, water, and many people’s bodies. More than 4.8million Vietnamese people are suffering from its consequences.
Every year, Vietnam earmarks more than 10 trillion VND (over440 million USD) from its budget for providing aid and health care forAO/dioxin victims and for assisting the disadvantaged areas severely affectedby the herbicides./.