France, June 5 -- In a historic step, France's lower house of parliament has voted unanimously to recognise the suffering of people repatriated to the mainland from the colonies in Indochina in the 1950s. The bill, brought by the Socialists, proposes a national day of remembrance on 8 June, compensation and the creation of memorial sites.

The crushing defeat for the French at Dien-Bien-Phu in Vietnam in 1954 brought an end to France's century-long colonial presence in Indochina, which included Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

The Geneva Accords of 21 July of that year opened the door to the repatriation to mainland France of nearly 40,000 people of Asian and European heritage, between 1954 to 1965.

From 1954, around 5,000 people were accom...