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A Vietnamese soldier stands next to a sign warning of the poison
Photo: THOMAS WATKINS / AFP
A French court ruled inadmissible a lawsuit against several chemical companies over the toxic defoliant Agent Orange, which was used in the Vietnam War. A court in Évry, south of Paris, decided that the companies were acting on behalf of the United States and could plead immunity from jurisdiction before the court in France. The court thus rejected claims for damages by the plaintiff.
The 79-year-old Tran To Nga came into contact with Agent Orange as a young woman in the Vietnam War and, according to the French news agency AFP, suffers from incurable cancer. Her lawsuit was directed against a total of 14 international chemical companies that had offered her compensation. But Nga emphasized that it was not about money, but about justice. One of her daughters died of a malformation of the heart, another one also suffers from heart problems.
The corporations, which also include the US seed company Monsanto, which was taken over by the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer, disputed the jurisdiction of the court in Évry.
Monsanto's attorney argued that the US had used Agent Orange for national “defense” and that a foreign court could therefore not deal with the matter.
The Bayer Group emphasized that the government in Washington at the time was solely responsible for the use of poison "and not the suppliers during wartime."
Bayer sees the USA and not companies as responsible
On request, the Bayer Group announced that it had great sympathy for the plaintiff and for all the people who suffered from the Vietnam War.
"However, it has been recognized by courts for many years that companies that produced at war on behalf of the US government are not responsible for possible damage," it said.
During the Vietnam War between the communist-ruled north and the US-backed south, the Americans sprayed chemical agents such as the highly toxic agent orange en masse from 1962 to 1971.
They wanted to defoliate the dense jungle that served the Viet Cong fighters as a retreat.
The Vietnamese, but also US soldiers, suffer from the consequences of the American use of toxins.
The dioxin contained in the defoliant is held responsible for cancer and severe malformations.
The plaintiff has been involved in civil litigation against the companies for several years and is supported by a number of organizations.
hba // dpa / AFP