Riots in Paris after police shoot a Chinese man dead

Riots in Paris after police shoot a Chinese man dead



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China urged France to protect its citizens in Paris after police there killed a Chinese father of four, sparking violent protests in the city.

There were 35 arrests in the capital city overnight from Monday to Tuesday as fighting broke out between officers and approximately 150 demonstrators in the 19th arrondissement.

Protesters were furious at the death of Shaoyo Liu, 56, who was shot dead on Sunday night after police were called to his flat to deal with a domestic dispute.





On Monday, members of Paris's sizable Asian community hurled bricks at riot police, who responded with baton charges.



Three officers were slightly injured in the confrontation and one police vehicle was damaged by an incendiary device.

At least one car was set on fire, as emergency services struggled to put out the blaze out while being bombarded.

Riots broke out a day after Liu was killed by a police officer.

A police source told AFP that Liu attacked the responding officer with a knife 'as soon as the door opened' on Sunday, injuring him.

A police colleague then opened fire, killing the Chinese man, authorities say.

Lui was brandishing a pair of scissors at the time, but his children say he was using them to cut fish, and that he had not meant to threaten the police.

Lawyer Calvin Job said the family of the dead man 'totally disputes this version of events.'

'He didn't injure anyone,' Job said, adding that the man had been 'trimming fish with a pair of scissors' when the police came to the door.

A police watchdog was to interview the family on Tuesday, Job said.

The Chinese government issued a statement on Tuesday calling on the Paris authorities to 'guarantee the safety and legal rights and interests of Chinese citizens in France and to treat the reaction of Chinese people to this incident in a rational way'.

After learning of Mr Liu's death, China 'immediately ordered its embassy in France to activate an emergency response mechanism' which meant investigating the killing.

The statement adds: 'Meanwhile, we hope that our citizens in France can voice their wishes and demands in a lawful and reasonable manner'.

France is currently under a state of emergency following a series of terrorist attacks carried out by Islamist extremists.

Despite this, public demonstrations regularly descend into violence, with police the principal target of rioters.

A spokesman for the Paris force said the circumstances of Mr Liu's death were the subject of an investigation.

He confirmed that 35 people were arrested during the protest on Monday night and 'all faced being charged with a variety of public order offences'.

Estimates put the size of the Chinese community in Paris at between 200,000 and 300,000.

Many of the first-generation Chinese nationals who live in the French capital came here in the 1980s and many work in the textile industry.

French police have come under fire for suspected violence in recent months following the highly publicised case of a black youth worker allegedly sodomised with a police baton.

Several demonstrations have been staged since the February 2 incident involving the 22-year-old.