In August, 49-year-old tailor and father-of-two Zhang Chaolin died in hospital after being attacked by three teenagers. He had been walking in a quiet street in the north Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, an important European textile center. Zhang was reportedly kicked in the sternum and fell, striking his head on the pavement. The aim of the attack was allegedly to steal his friend's bag.
The tailor had nothing on him except sweets and cigarettes.
In response, on 4 September, at least 15,000 ethnic Chinese turned out in Paris's Place de la Republique to give vent to their deep feelings of insecurity.
Estimated at more than 600,000 people, France has Europe's largest Chinese community. France's ethnic Chinese population have long suffered casual racism and been stereotyped as easy targets for crime. According to the article, they have been publicly told to go back to their country, go and work with their little hands, asked if they ate dogs, and called names. Asians are reportedly easy targets because they are perceived as weak and usually carry a lot of cash. Activists say at least 100 attacks against Chinese nationals were reported in the suburb in just the first seven months of this year. France does not keep statistics based on ethnicity, so it is difficult to know the real number of incidents.
Chinese immigrants and activist groups have called out to the government, simply asking for more police and security resources. Since the demonstrations in August and September, extra police officers have been promised for Aubervilliers. But city hall says it cannot afford to provide more security cameras. The mayor did not respond to requests for comment on these issues. And the government seems to not take the issue seriously. A similar case for British Chinese can be found here.
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