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Page last updated at 08:36 GMT, Tuesday, 15 April 2008 09:36 UK

Carrefour faces China boycott bid

Paralympian Jin Jing in Paris, 07/04
The treatment of Paralympian Jin Jing in Paris sparked outrage

Chinese activists are urging shoppers to stay away from French retailer Carrefour, following the Olympic torch's troubled passage through Paris.

A message circulating on the internet and mobile phones accuses the company of backing the Dalai Lama - blamed by Beijing for sparking unrest in Tibet.

The move follows widespread anger in China at the pro-Tibet protests that have interrupted the torch relay.

Internet forums have been critical of Western media and governments.

The BBC's China analyst Shirong Chen says nationalist sentiment is running very high in the country at the moment.

France is bearing the brunt, he says, after pro-Tibet protesters tried to grab the torch from Paralympic fencer Jin Jing.

State media have given huge coverage to 27-year-old Ms Jin, and labelled the protesters "human rights tramplers".

The French retail group Carrefour and luxury brand Louis Vuitton are among the French interests targeted by Chinese activists both inside and outside China.

Reuters quoted one message as saying Carrefour's parent company had "donated a lot of money to the Dalai Lama".

"Adding the French people's support for Tibetan separatists during the Paris leg of the torch relay, there is truly no reason to give the French money by buying their goods," the boycott call said.




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