French police officers used batons and tear gas as around one hundred people from local Chinese community Monday evening staged a protest against the killing of a Chinese national at his home by police in a reported clash Sunday.
At least one man of Chinese origin was injured, according to witnesses, as police officers intervened with batons and tear gas at around 8:40 p.m. local time to disperse protesters outside a police station on the Erik Satie street of the 19th arrondissement.
The protesters had set up candles on the ground in the shape of words "Opposition to violence" in French and "Dying with injustice unredressed" in Chinese. Some of them chanted slogans "Murderers! Murderers!"
"We're here to commemorate our compatriot, and we do not want to die of police violence," a protester said. "That's equality?" questioned another protester, a Chinese who has lived for ten years in France.
A Chinese national was shot dead at his home in Paris by a policeman on Sunday night. Some French media reports described the killing as a "legitimate defense" against "an assailant with scissors." However, local Chinese media reports, quoting a daughter of the man, said the 160-cm-tall man, a father of five children, did not attack the policeman at all.
The Chinese embassy in France in a statement on Monday confirmed the death of the Chinese national, urging the French authorities to ascertain the truth in a quick manner and handle the case fairly.
