France: SOS Parade in Paris

On July 19th over 100 practitioners and supporters of Falun Gong marched through the streets of Paris and around the Chinese Embassy in the name of “Three Years of Persecution, Three years of Courage, But Three Years Too Many”. The sky was blue and pure, the sun was shining and the people dressed in white displayed a noble and solemn attitude in memory of the practitioners persecuted and killed in China.

Around 100 French politicians who had expressed their support for Falun Gong during the three years of persecution were invited to attend the event. Some came to walk with the practitioners, those who were not able to come called or wrote letters to express their renewed support to the cause. Their messages were echoed during the introduction and conclusion speeches of the march. The famous French politician, Alain Madelin, the president of the national party Liberal Democracy had his assistant call us to express his support. Many others also expressed support such as the Assistant Mayor of Grenoble. As for the Green Party, they had a representative walk with us and give a speech in firm support of our cause.

The Media Came Too!

International and French media agencies came to film the march and interview practitioners and supporters of Falun Gong. Some practitioners took advantage of the event to reveal to them that Jiang Zemin staged the “self-immolation”, that it was one of the most scandalous affairs of the persecution and that the Chinese regime was scared to see it revealed.

One of the journalists was delighted to see that at the end of the walk, on the high square overlooking the Eifel Tower, there was a collective practice of the exercises. I saw him run to shoot the scene.

The Support of the French People

A woman who lived by the road came out to look at the cortège. She remember seeing last year’s 20th July march and enjoying the music. Interviewed by the medias, who were checking the impressions of those witnessing the march, she expressed her undivided support to the cause of Falun Gong and said that she was moved by the women dressed in white who carried the pictures of those killed in China under the persecution.

At seeing the cortège, people would come on their own to get truth clarifying brochures. Others would stop on their way to read the banners. An old lady who is not a practitioner but a supporter of Falun Gong came to walk with us although she is over 80. The neighbours of a practitioner and their whole family came to join us too. A young man who’s not a practitioner either drove several hundreds kilometres to come to Paris and attend the event.

A Chinese journalist and political refugee in France carried a lotus flower a practitioner had given him. It moved me to tears to see that he held it with both hands as something very precious.

Under the Protection of the Police

In China, the police are ordered to shoot Falun Gong practitioners dead; in France they come to protect them when they hold activities. What a sharp contrast. If was funny to see some of them yawning because they were so relaxed and convinced that our behaviour is always very good. During the parade they were on the watch to protect us from passing cars. Some would take the time to discuss at leisure with practitioners in order to understand the nature of Falun Gong.