On the evening of November 17, in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, met and expressed gratitude to Mr. Olivier Parriaux and Mr. Bernard Bachelard, two of the three Swiss citizens who bravely hung the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam on the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral (France) on January 18 and 19, 1969, to protest the war and support peace for the Vietnamese people.
On behalf of the leaders and people of the City, Secretary of the City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen expressed his joy and respect to welcome the dear friends of the Vietnamese people to visit Ho Chi Minh City at such a meaningful time; at the same time, he expressed his admiration for the courageous actions of Mr. Bernard Bachelard, Olivier Parriaux and Noé Graff more than 50 years ago, who overcame difficulties and dangers in the cold weather to hang the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam on the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, right at the time of the first days of peace negotiations for Vietnam.
Mr. Nguyen Van Nen believes that the courageous actions of Mr. Bernard Bachelard, Olivier Parriaux and Noé Graff have a noble meaning, not for personal interests or the interests of their country but for peace, justice, and the fight for the Vietnamese people's fight for independence, unity, and territorial integrity.
“On behalf of the Vietnamese people who are enjoying independence and peace, I would like to express my deep gratitude to international friends who have helped Vietnam in the struggle for independence, including Mr. Bernard Bachelard and Olivier Parriaux who are present today,” Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen emotionally emphasized.
According to the leader of Ho Chi Minh City, history has passed, peace has been restored on the land of Vietnam, but the wounds of war still need to be overcome, they cannot be healed overnight.
With the tradition of “remembering the source of water” of the Vietnamese people, the next generations are always grateful to those who sacrificed for national independence and unification and to international friends who have made great, selfless contributions to world peace.
Thanking the Ho Chi Minh City leaders for their welcome, Mr. Olivier Parriaux and Mr. Bernard Bachelard expressed their joy to visit Ho Chi Minh City, sharing the process of researching, planning and implementing the hanging of the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam on the top of the tower of Notre Dame Cathedral (France) on the night of January 18, 1969, an event that shocked French and American public opinion at that time, to show support for the resistance war for independence and peace of the Vietnamese people.
Mr. Olivier Parriaux said that it has been more than 50 years since he and his comrades planted the Vietnamese revolutionary flag on the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Along with the victory in 1975, the war in Vietnam ended but the consequences of the war are still evident. The consequences of the war still exist in the lives of the Vietnamese people such as issues related to bombs and mines left after the war or the consequences of Agent Orange dioxin left for many generations...
Therefore, Mr. Bernard Bachelard, Olivier Parriaux and Noé Graff are actively participating in calling for financial support for legal activities demanding justice for victims of dioxin and caring for victims of Agent Orange.
Mr. Bernard Bachelard hopes to receive cooperation and exchange with Vietnamese friends who share the same views on this issue. On this occasion, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen respectfully presented the Ho Chi Minh City Badge to Mr. Bernard Bachelard and Olivier Parriaux, as a deep gratitude from Ho Chi Minh City for their good feelings towards the Vietnamese people and their silent but noble contributions to the cause of fighting for Vietnam's national independence.
On behalf of his two comrades, Mr. Olivier Parriaux presented the Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee with the book “Le Viet Cong au sommet de Notre-Dame” (tentatively translated as The Viet Cong Flag on Top of Notre-Dame Cathedral), a book co-authored by Bernard Bachelard, Noé Graff and Olivier Parriaux published by FAVRE Publishing House, Lausane (Switzerland), launched in January 2023, publicly revealing for the first time his heroic actions more than 50 years ago.
During their visit to Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Olivier Parriaux and Mr. Bernard Bachelard had meetings with the press and the city's youth; visited Agent Orange victims; visited historical sites of the city such as the Cu Chi Tunnels Historical Site, the War Remnants Museum.../.
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