Raymonde Dien (centre) in the 1950s. — VNA/VNS Photo

PARIS — Raymonde Dien, a member of the French Communist Party and a symbol of the fight against the war by the French colonialists in Việt Nam, passed away on August 19. She was 93.

She was known by Vietnamese and the world at large for blocking a train carrying tanks and weapons to Indochina in 1950.

Born on May 13, 1929, in Pays de la Loire in France, Dien soon followed in her father’s footsteps and participated in socio-political activities.

She joined the French Communist Party at the age of 18.

The French anti-war movement in the 1950s saw workers in major ports of France going on strike, protesting the shipment of weapons and soldiers to Việt Nam.

Dien joined other French communists in supporting the Vietnamese people in their struggle for peace.

On February 23, 1950, the French Communist Party federation in Indre-et-Loire received news that a train carrying tanks and weapons to Indochina would pass through the city of Saint-Pierre-des-Corps.

Workers, women and young people were called upon to intercept the shipment. Raymonde Dien was one of the people who lay on the railway track in an attempt to stop the train.

The train stopped just a few feet away from her.

Dien was later arrested, taken to court and detained for nearly a year.

When asked what motivated her actions, Dien said: “I only wished that I could do something significant to stop the train and let the French understand the nature of the war.”

In 1956, Raymonde Dien and fellow activist Henri Martin visited Việt Nam for the first time for a youth congress, where they had the chance to meet the late President Hồ Chí Minh.

Raymonde Dien during an interview with Việt Nam News Agency (VNA) in 2013. — VNA/VNS Photo

She returned to Việt Nam in 2004, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Điện Biên Phủ victory.

On September 2 the same year, she was decorated with a Friendship Order by the Vietnamese Government.

She had always wished that Việt Nam would turn into a beautiful country, a destination for everyone in the world, and that people could understand the tremendous sacrifice by Vietnamese for the war.

Dien always kept Việt Nam in her heart and thought of it as her second home, she said.

During her final years, she was still actively joining events relating to Việt Nam, particularly those initiated by the France-Vietnam Friendship Association in support of Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange. — VNS