Advertisement
Advertisement
Riot police stand guard in front of a police station in Paris on Monday night. About 100 people from the Chinese community held a demonstration in front of the station in the 19th arrondissement to protest against the killing of a Chinese man on Sunday night. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese man shot dead in Paris by police, sparking violent protests

Family says officers did not give sufficient warning before opening fire, according to news website

A Chinese man was shot dead in Paris after a stand-off with the ­police, sparking protests among the Chinese community in the French capital.

Three police officers were injured during the protests and 35 people were arrested, French authorities said yesterday.

The foreign ministry in Beijing said it had summoned a French diplomat in the capital and called for measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens in France.

Officers used tear gas to disperse protestors outside a police station on Monday, injuring one demonstrator, Xinhua reported.

Chen Xiaoqi, chairman of the Qingtian Association in France, said most of those involved in the protest were young people.

“Young people especially want to make a strong stand against not wanting to be bullied because of our ethnicity,” he said. “We are demanding the full report of why the man was shot. We will pursue legal action if necessary.”

The saga erupted after French police were called when the man complained to a neighbour about noise on Sunday night while carrying a pair of scissors, according to the Chinese news website Thepaper.cn.

The neighbour then rang the emergency services. The man’s family were quoted as saying that police broke into the house and shot him as he was holding the scissors.

Xinhua reported that hundreds of people from the Chinese community in Paris protested on Monday outside a police station.

With chants of “murderers” and candles that spelled “opposition to violence” lining the road on Monday night, scores of demonstrators broke down barricades, threw projectiles and set fire to a car during the clashes with police that lasted several hours.

Officers used batons and tear gas to disperse the protesters, injuring at least one man of ­Chinese origin, the report said.

Members of the Chinese community involved in the stand-off with police on Monday night in Paris. Photo: Xinhua

The dead man was a 57-year-old living in Paris with his wife and five children, Thepaper.cn said.

He was at his flat in the 19th ­arrondissement with his children on Sunday night when the police arrived. The man was said to have consumed alcohol.

His children were quoted as saying that the police did not give two warnings as the law requires before opening fire.

Police said the man injured a police officer with the scissors ­before being shot, according to the report. His family said the man had only been holding the scissors in his hand when he originally complained about the noise to his neighbour because he had been cutting fish.

The word violence formed with candles seen outside the police station where protestors gathered on Monday night. Photo: Xinhua

The Chinese community in France – one of the largest in ­Europe – has claimed it is an easy target of robbery and violence.

Last September, more than 10,000 people from the French Chinese community rallied against racism and violence after the killing of a Chinese man in late August in a Parisian suburb.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Protests follow police shooting of Chinese man
Post