Mass muggings and attacks on Chinese tourists in Paris have spawned alarm and warnings of a decline in the number of free-spending visitors from the Asian giant who swarm to France.
More than 1 million Chinese visitors come every year to France, a country which for them epitomizes luxury, romance and quality products.
However, that may very well change, said one expert, citing a slew of recent attacks which he says takes the sheen off the “City of Lights” for Chinese visitors.
“This has become a scourge. Since the past year, we have been seeing attacks almost every day,” said Jean-Francois Zhou, the head of Ansel Travel, which specializes in tours to and from China.
On March 20, a group of 23 Chinese visitors were robbed in a restaurant shortly after they landed in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport. Their passports, plane tickets and cash were stolen and the group leader sustained an injury to the face.
“The situation is serious. If these attacks continue, we may have to pay the price,” Zhou told reporters.
He said about 10 Chinese visitors were robbed on one day in October last year, mainly in the famed Louvre museum, right in the heart of the city.
And in February, “a minibus caught in a traffic jam was attacked, its windows were smashed and handbags stolen,” he said, adding there was a more recent attack on Chinese nationals at a four-star hotel in Paris.
“There has been an increase in the number of complaints filed over the past year,” said Li Peng (李平), who is in charge of consular affairs at the Chinese embassy in Paris. “In a week we could have five to six demands for travel documents” to replace stolen passports.”
French Tourism Minister Sylvia Pinel has pledged that “everything will be done to find the perpetrators” of the latest mass mugging, and underscored “the determination of the French government to ensure the security of tourists in France.”
Zhou said the Chinese were targeted as they were big spenders, adding: “Some of them carry up to 20,000 euros [US$25,000] for shopping.”
The latest incident has fueled concern and some anti-French feeling on China’s talkative social media scene, but several Chinese travel agencies declined to comment to reporters on the possible consequences.
One municipal travel committee in China’s Jiangsu Province urged travelers to take precautions.
“Chinese tourists who travel abroad are recommended to take less cash, never show off money or valuables, never talk to strangers in public places or scenic spots, always keep an eye on personal belongings,” it said on its Chinese microblogging account.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
The Russian minister of foreign affairs warned the US, South Korea and Japan against forming a security partnership targeting North Korea as he visited the ally country for talks on further solidifying their booming military and other cooperation. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov spoke on Saturday in Wonsan City, North Korea, where he met North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and conveyed greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim during the meeting reaffirmed his government’s commitment to “unconditionally support and encourage all measures” taken by Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow share identical views on “all strategic issues in
‘FALSE NARRATIVE’: China and the Solomon Islands inked a secretive security pact in 2022, which is believed to be a prelude to building a Chinese base, which Beijing denied The Australian government yesterday said it expects China to spy on major military drills it is conducting with the US and other allies. It also renewed a charge — denounced by Beijing as a “false narrative” — that China wants to establish a military base in the South Pacific. The comments by a government minister came as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a six-day visit to China to bolster recently repaired trade ties. More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join in the annual Talisman Sabre exercises from yesterday across Australia and Papua New Guinea. “The Chinese military have
The US Department of Education on Tuesday said it opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Michigan (UM) while alleging it found “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures” in a review of the university’s foreign reports, after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the US. As part of the investigation, the department asked the university to share, within 30 days, tax records related to foreign funding, a list of foreign gifts, grants and contracts with any foreign source, and other documents, the department said in a statement and in a letter to
RSS