The death earlier this month of a Chinese man after he was assaulted in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers has sparked furious protests from the local Chinese and South-East Asian populations, which are increasingly the target of gratuitous violence and robberies by gangs of youths fof other ethnic origins. The authorities and the media have largely ignored the racist attacks against the Chinese community, which has now begun to set up its own self-defence groups. Aurélie Delmas reports from Aubervilliers where the mayor warns of a powder-keg situation.
Flowers and message cards still adorn the railings along the pavement where Chaolin Zhang fell. Some are in Chinese, others in French: "Let justice be done"; "We have endured too much, enough! " or "Killed for no reason, when will the next one be?"
