French court rejects appeal in Agent Orange lawsuit by French-Vietnamese ex-journalist
A Paris court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by French-Vietnamese former journalist Tran To Nga, who sought to sue Monsanto and other agrochemical companies for their role in producing Agent Orange, used by the US military to devastating effect during the Vietnam War. The court upheld the companies' legal immunity, prompting Nga, who has faced severe health issues that she has linked to the chemical, to take her case to France's highest appeals court.
A Paris court Thursday rejected an appeal by a French-Vietnamese woman who has been trying to sue Monsanto and other makers of Agent Orange for the chemical's use in the Vietnam war.
Tran To Nga, who was born in what was then French Indochina, accused 14 agrochemicals firms of causing grievous harm to her and others by selling Agent Orange to the American military, which used the herbicide to devastating effect in Vietnam.
She lost her initial case in 2021, when a French court ruled that the companies enjoyed legal immunity from prosecution because they worked for a sovereign government.
The Paris Court of Appeal used the same argument in rejecting Nga's claim.
Her demands "come up against the companies' immunity status," the court said in its written ruling, seen by AFP.
(AFP)
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