France: Promoting Falun Gong and Raising Awareness about the Persecution in Northern Paris

On the 25th of June 2005, French practitioners held an activity to promote Falun Gong on Place Gabriel Peri near the Gare Saint-Lazare rail station. This was the seventh step of a tour of Paris, intended to let more people know about Falun Gong and raise their awareness of the human rights abuses against practitioners in China.

The weather in France at the end of June is very hot. This area is a business district on the northern shore of the River Seine. The Gare Saint-Lazare rail station, the Conservatoire of Paris and a number of musical instruments shops are located at the north side of the square. On the south side, there is the famous Paris Opera and large shopping malls such as La Fayette and Printemps. These geographical features mean that the area attracts many local residents, as well as tourists from all over the world. Throngs of people got the chance to learn about Falun Gong.

The French practitioners told people about the crimes that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), headed by former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, has committed against Falun Gong practitioners during the last six years. One recent example is the case of Gao Rongrong, a 37-year-old accountant whose face was severely disfigured from seven hours of electric shock treatment. After photos of her face reached the outside world, CCP official Luo Gan increased his persecution against her culminating in her death in June 2005.

Many people approached practitioners on their own initiative to sign their names on a petition calling for an end to the persecution and sometimes there was even a queue. Police officers on duty were very supportive of the activities and they talked a lot with the practitioners.

During the activity, practitioners unexpectedly met a freelance writer who regularly submits articles to the mainstream French media. After learning the truth about Falun Gong, she wanted to help bring an end to the persecution. She took many leaflets with her and hoped that we would hold more of these kinds of activities.

During the tour of Paris, we have met many predestined people who wanted to learn the exercises, felt a strong energy field and were touched by Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.