Therese Nguyen Van Ky, Chairwoman of the Vietnamese Community Association in France, who was responsible for healthcare for Vietnamese negotiating delegation, now cannot forget her joy on that day when the Paris Accords were signed: “Nothing can express my feeling then. At the beginning, I didn’t understand what the situation was, then I heard the news that the country won, so I was extremely excited.”

Ngo Le Thu, a Vietnamese resident in France, is very touched when she recalls the historical moment: “I felt happy and I was very proud of my country. Vietnam was a former French colony, and I saw the sufferings of the oppressed people. Now Vietnamese people are free, the country is prosperous thanks to the agreement. I’m grateful to people who stayed in Paris for 5 years of negotiations for national glory.”

Doan Huu Trung, a Vietnamese resident connecting closely with a delegation of southern Vietnam in Paris, composed a poem that he still remembers today:

“Good news come uninterruptedly, my heart seems to be broken by happiness

Although living far away, my heart always turns my homeland

Paris streets are filled with red flags and millions of salutes

Salute my dear Vietnam, salute comrades

Long live Vietnam independence!”

The victory of negotiations which led to the signing of the 1973 Paris Accords is forever the moral victory for all Vietnamese people, including overseas Vietnamese.