Chinese protest Tibet independence, slam France

Chinese people took to the streets in several cities yesterday to denounce calls for Tibetan independence and demand a French goods boycott following anti-China protests on the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay.

Pictures from the central city of Wuhan showed large crowds marching with banners reading: 'Oppose Tibet independence, support the Olympics', and 'Say no to French goods'.

There were similar protests in the southeastern city of Hefei and the southwestern city of Kunming, with groups gathered outside branches of the French supermarket chain Carrefour.

In Beijing, there was a small protest at a Carrefour supermarket but police soon ended it.

"We are trying to wake up Chinese people's patriotism to let them make an effort for the Olympic Games and to work together to protest against Tibetan separatist activities," one protester, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

A small group of people gathered near the French embassy protesting disruptions to the Olympic torch relay in Paris, holding banners saying: 'Tibet belongs to China' and 'Shut up you French'. Riot police sealed off the streets leading to the embassy, and the group soon dispersed.

"Many participants in Kunming persuaded elders and children to leave the crowd and maintained order during the protest," Xinhua news agency said in a brief report in English on the protests.

In Paris itself, Chinese demonstrators waving flags and banners supporting the Games held a protest against the way the situation in Tibet has been reported in the West.

"I'm very angry about the French people. They are ignorant about what is happening in Tibet," said Xi Shengjun, who said he was an employee of a French company visiting on a business trip. "They just know what they have heard in their own media and it is not the truth," he said.

France has tried to play down calls for a boycott of French goods, saying they were being made by a 'very small minority' and Carrefour, which has more than 100 hypermarkets in China, has restated its support for Beijing's hosting of the Olympics.