French National Newspaper Reports How Chinese Leaders’ Dislike of Seeing Falun Gong Caused Paris Traffic Jam

On January 30th, 2004, Major National newspaper Le Figaro published an article entitled "Monstrous Traffic Jam during Hu Jintao's visit". The article revealed how Chinese Officials were so afraid to see brochures on persecution in China that they demanded that several major roads in Paris be closed during their official visit. During the few days of the President's visit, the majority of Parisioners felt that it was overly-extreme of the French authorities to enforce extra and extreme security measures to meet the demands of the Chinese president. Indeed, most inhabitants were blocked in "monstrous" traffic jams, some who lived in the city center, were not even able to go home and had to wait while Hu was eating at the Eifel Tower - he had ordered that all access to the neighbourhood be blocked. But what was he so afraid of ? The journalist explained that Chinese leaders are touchy and they would not have liked to see “Reporters Without Borders” or Falun Gong, which is being persecuted in China, demonstrate and distribute brochures freely in Paris.