Safety plea after attack on Chinese students in France

The Chinese Embassy in France yesterday strongly condemned an attack on six Chinese students, demanding French authorities bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure the safety of Chinese students there.

An official statement said Chinese government departments and the embassy were highly concerned about the incident.

The embassy said it had sent officials to Bordeaux to follow up the incident, assist in the handling of related problems, visit the injured students and convey concerns and condolences from Chinese Education Minister Yuan Guiren.

The students were attacked in the early hours of Saturday in France's wine-producing region of Bordeaux, France's interior ministry said, describing the violence as an "act of xenophobia."

French Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll said yesterday that the country's image had taken a hit following the attack. Manuel Valls, the interior minister, also condemned the attack on Saturday, promising to punish the three attackers and provide help for relatives of the injured students.

The three alleged attackers are in police custody.

A 24-year-old female student was seriously hurt when a champagne bottle struck her on the face. She was later sent to a hospital in Bordeaux where she underwent surgery.

"It's an unspeakable act," Le Foll said, speaking at the inauguration of the Vinexpo in Bordeaux, one of the world's biggest wine fairs.

China, French wine makers' third biggest market, has increased its participation at the show, with 18 exhibitors expected this year, up from two in 2011.

"It's the image of France which has been dented with these xenophobic attitudes," Le Foll added.

The students arrived in France two months ago for a one-year training course on wine-making techniques.

French media reported that the suspects were neighbors of the Chinese students.

Police had called on the three men to investigate noise complaints and the suspects, said to be drunk, then attacked the students at their residence in a village of 1,300 inhabitants, thinking they had called the police.

The attack was widely criticized on China's most popular social networking service, Sina Weibo.

"How dangerous is France! We need to be cautious about going there now, and avoid going as far as we can. We should go to better countries," one user wrote.

"This is too far for the French people. My impression of France used to be quite good, but now it's damaged," said another.