France on damage control amid Chinese protests

The president of the French Senate is in China on behalf of President Nicolas Sarkozy to try and dampen the anti-French sentiment that has been on the rise since the Olympic torch relay disturbances in Paris. Christophe Robeet explains. French President Nicolas Sarkozy Monday sent his personal support to a wheelchair-bound Chinese athlete caught up in Olympic torch protests in Paris, as fresh anti-France rallies exploded across China. In a letter delivered by the visiting French Senate president, Sarkozy condemned the attacks on Jin Jing, who was forced to shield the torch from pro-Tibet protesters during the relay's chaotic Paris leg. The message was given to Jin as China sought Monday to dampen anti-French sentiment triggered in part by that incident, which has flared into three days of demonstrations targeting French store Carrefour. "I was shocked to see what happened during the torch relay," French Senate president Christian Poncelet said in Shanghai, quoting from Sarkozy's letter. "It is understandable that the Chinese people feel hurt. I hereby strongly condemn what they did." Jin, who is a fencer, was attacked when protesters repeatedly disrupted the April 7 relay, and had to fend off attempts to grab the flame. Sarkozy invited her to France, saying those behind "this painful incident" did not represent the feelings of friendship between the two nations. The incident has turned Jin into a hero figure while the state-run press here has used it as symbolic of the disruption that has marred the relay and angered Chinese hoping for a successful Beijing Olympics in August. Over the weekend, thousands of protesters demonstrated outside many of the French retail giant Carrefour's 122 branches nationwide. The store has denied claims it supports exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Despite an impressive police presence, demonstrations continued Sunday with protesters chanting slogans and holding banners against Tibetan independence. Fresh protests erupted in nine cities on Monday. For the fourth straight day, the leading People's Daily carried Monday an editorial urging Chinese to be "rational" in showing their "patriotism." All major dailies also prominently ran a denial by Carrefour of its alleged support for Tibetan independence. France said Sunday it would send former prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin to Beijing later this week on a previously scheduled trip. Also expected in the Chinese capital was Sarkozy's top diplomatic adviser, Jean-David Levitte, on a mission arranged after the protests broke out. China has become increasingly angered by protests over Tibet that have marred the torch relay in Paris, London and San Francisco. Anti-China demonstrations have grown internationally since Beijing started quelling unrest in Tibet last month, when peaceful protests turned into riots and spread through neighbouring Tibetan-populated areas. Despite the calls for calm, state press on Monday accused the Dalai Lama of trying to sabotage the Olympics by fomenting unrest in his Himalayan homeland. Exiled Tibetan leaders say more than 150 people have died in the government crackdown on unrest. China says Tibetan "rioters" killed 18 civilians and two policemen. Comments this month by Sarkozy that he might boycott the August 8 Olympics opening ceremony unless China opened a dialogue with the Dalai Lama have also appeared to fuel the action against Carrefour. Despite becoming an unwitting symbol of the outrage, Jin has been criticised by some Chinese Internet users for voicing opposition to boycotting Carrefour, arguing it employs large numbers of Chinese. "Everyone has freedom of speech. It's fine that we see different feedback. I have respect for what they said," she said Monday in response to the criticism. Original video: http://www.france24.com/en/20080422-paris-honors-dalai-lama-chinese-dissident-france-china-protests&navi=FRANCE?q=node/1375990 + http://www.cctv.com/english/20080422/101078.shtml

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YouTube | April 22, 2008

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