France’s Chinese community marches in Paris to demand better security, after killing of tailor

Reading Time:1 minute

People hold a Chinese national flag as they march during a demonstration in Paris on Sunday in response to the killingof tailor Zhang Chaolin. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Published: 8:33am, 22 Aug 2016Updated: 8:43pm, 22 Aug 2016

Around 1,800 people from the Chinese community in France took part in a march near Paris Sunday calling for greater security after a deadly robbery earlier this month.

At the end of the demonstration, the crowd set upon a suspected robber in the protest. Police used tear gas to pull the suspect clear of the angry mob, according to a journalist at the scene.

To cries of “Liberte, egalite, fraternite”, demonstrators marched through the northern Paris suburb of Aubervilliers where Zhang Chaolin, a 49-year-old tailor died after being attacked by three thieves on August 7.

The trio had tried to snatch a bag belonging to a friend of Zhang, who died a few days later from injuries sustained in the altercation.

Family members and relatives hold a portrait of Zhang Chaolin as people light candles and lay flowers outside the city hall in Aubervilliers, north-eastern Paris, on August 14. Photo: Agence France-Presse

“There are frequent attacks but we don’t sue because we don’t speak good French. And, we’re working, we don’t have time,” said one protester, 26-year-old Paris bar worker Cai Jiang.

“We are appealing to the state because we are French citizens, even if we don’t feel that we are considered as such,” said another participant, 23-year-old shop owner Marina.