Chinese police to get with the Parisian beat

Officers from China will patrol the streets of Paris this summer to assist with a crackdown on crimes against tourists in the French capital.

Xie Wen is planning to travel to Europe. However, even though Xie's first stop on the continent will be Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, she won't be visiting the French capital.

"I will take the high speed TGV train from a station near the airport and head to southern France. I have read too many stories about crime in Paris. Even though it would be heavenly to see the magnificent views and sites, I cannot go there, especially as I will be traveling with my only child," the 36-year-old Beijing resident said.

Xie has reason to be wary. Crimes against Chinese tourists in Paris have mushroomed in recent years, prompting headlines in the national media.

In March 2013, 23 Chinese tourists were targeted by thieves at a restaurant in the Le Bourget area of Paris. Reports said the thieves made off with 7,500 euros ($10,300) in cash, plus passports and plane tickets. The leader of the tourist group was attacked and injured in the incident.

Liu Xianglin was the victim of pickpockets who stole 2,000 yuan ($321) as he rode the metro. The 50-year-old is convinced that the culprits were a group of girls who asked him to fill in a questionnaire.

Li Qi, a 21-year-old student in Paris, was robbed in broad daylight, but no one came to her aid: "I was talking to a friend on my phone at the foot of Montmartre when a guy suddenly snatched my phone and ran away. I shouted for help, but it was no use - it seems people around here are used to robberies, especially in the 18th arrondissement."

In a bid to counter the increasing number of crimes perpetrated against Chinese tourists in Paris, Bernard Cazeneuve, France's minister of the interior, has invited Chinese police to work alongside French officers on the city's streets later this year.

Patrols, translation

It will be the first time that Chinese police have been deployed in a foreign city in support of a local force. The police liaison office of the Chinese embassy in Paris will oversee the officers' training, but no details of the program have been disclosed.

An unnamed senior officer from the Office of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Public Security told People's Daily that Chinese and French officials are in discussions about the role the Chinese detachment - consisting of eight to 10 French-speaking officers - will play, and that details of the talks will be published soon.

The officers will conduct joint patrols with their French counterparts to facilitate communication with Chinese tourists in need of assistance, and to strengthen supervision at popular attractions.

"This is a good policy to pursue. It's a new type of service, but the cooperation between us will generate some good results," said Cazeneuve.

Figures from Parisian police confirm the high crime rate. Official statistics show that in the first 10 months of 2013, crime rates in certain districts of Paris were much higher than in the rest of France: 7.5 percent higher in terms of physical violence, 10.5 percent higher in crimes against property, 26 percent higher in scams, and 31 percent higher in terms of burglary.

Once Chinese police receive reports of tourists in difficulty, or complaints about crimes such as robbery, they will help their French counterparts deal with the incident, especially at the translation level, but they will not be armed and will not have the power to make arrests.

"This shows that Paris has finally started to address the concerns of Chinese tourists, who regularly fall victim to pickpockets and other thieves," said Xie Yanjun, a professor at the China Tourism Academy in Beijing. "The primary reason Chinese people are targeted is that they are renowned for having cash on them," he added, referring to the fact that the yuan is not easily convertible and many Chinese people either distrust credit cards, or are unable to use them in the host country, resulting in tourists often carrying large amounts of the local currency.