China

May Day anti-French protests as torch arrives

Article published on the 2008-05-01 Latest update 2008-08-06 14:12 TU

A customer in front of a Carrefour sign in Shanghai
(Photo: Reuters)

Hundreds of protesters holding Chinese flags rallied outside five Carrefour stores, despite efforts by the government to stave off anti-French sentiment, reported Chinese state media. Carrefour is a French retail chain with nearly 400 stores in China. Shouting slogans against independence for Tibet, some tried to convince people not to go into the stores.

To quell further protests, it would seem that the Chinese government is trying to keep people from organising online. Web searches in China of the word Carrefour come up with a message indicating the information is not accessible, which suggests that the government might be censoring online content.

Anti-French demonstrations first broke out in April in the aftermath of the chaotic protests around the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay. France later sent three senior political representatives to China to try to ease tensions, including former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Rafarrin.

These protests come as the Olympic torch arrived in China. On Friday the torch goes through Hong Kong, the first of 133 cities it will pass through in China in the run-up to the Games.

The Hong Kong relay is seen as the last chance for China critics and pro-Tibet protesters to make themselves heard before the torch heads into the more restrictive mainland of China.