Full Focus

A miner on strike stands in front of a burning barricade on the A-66 motorway, on the first day of a strike to protest the government's spending cuts in the mining sector, in Pola de Lena, near Oviedo, northern Spain, May 23, 2012. Spain's economy is contracting for the second time since late 2009 and four years of stagnation and recession have pushed unemployment above 24 percent, the highest rate in the European Union. REUTERS/Eloy Alonso

Editor's Choice

Our best photos from the last 24 hours.  See more 

Pictures

Members of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan as part of the 25th annual Fleet Week celebration in New York, May 23, 2012. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

Reuters Photojournalism

Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography.  See more | Photo caption 

Photo

Maxim Hot 100

The world's most beautiful women as chosen by Maxim readers.  Slideshow 

Shreen Mohammad sits with other recruits during a military exercise at the Kabul Military Training Center (KMTC) in Kabul March 28, 2012. A landmark NATO summit in Chicago endorsed an exit strategy that calls for handing control of Afghanistan to its own security forces by the middle of next year but left questions unanswered about how to prevent a slide into chaos and a Taliban resurgence after allied troops are gone. Picture taken March 28, 2012. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY SOCIETY) ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 18 OF 27 FOR PACKAGE 'AFGHAN ARMY RECRUIT'

Afghan army recruit

A look at an Afghan recruit as he goes through the process of joining the Afghan National Army.  Slideshow 

France asks China to respect human rights in Tibet

Related Topics

PARIS | Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:20pm EDT

PARIS (Reuters) - France called on China to respect human rights on Sunday as scuffles broke out in front of the country's embassy in Paris during a demonstration against China's crackdown on protests in Tibet.

A statement from the Foreign Ministry said France was monitoring the situation in Tibet "with close attention with our European partners".

"With the approach of the Olympic Games, which ought to be a great show of fraternity, France would like to draw the attention of the Chinese authorities to the importance of respecting human rights," said the statement.

Earlier in the day, around 500 pro-Tibetan supporters had gathered by the Chinese embassy on Paris's chic avenue George V.

French riot police used tear gas to disperse members of the crowd, but there were no serious injuries. Some 10 protesters were taken away.

Protesters held up banners with slogans such as "I Am With The Dalai Lama" and "China's Lying, Tibetans Are Dying."

At one point, a demonstrator climbed onto the first floor balcony of the embassy to take down the Chinese flag and replace it with the Tibetan one.

(Reporting by Alain Ricci, Brigitte Malho, Sudip Kar-Gupta)
World
Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.