(ECNS) - The Chinese Embassy in France has urged tourists to stay vigilant and exercise caution following several reports of tourists having their car tires damaged and property looted.
Several Chinese tourists who rented cars in France have reported criminal gangs following them on their journeys, before puncturing their car tires, luring them out of their cars and stealing their bags.
The embassy has called for self-driving tourists to be aware of their safety and pay close attention to personal property when parking their cars.
The embassy said that a Chinese couple was robbed of passports, bank cards, cash and mobile phones in May 2017 when their car tires were damaged by criminals riding motorcycles.
A tourist named Fan from Chengdu, along with his girlfriend, also fell victim to a similar robbery during their stay in the French city of Reims, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.
Lu Qingjiang, a counselor at the Chinese Embassy in France, met with a Paris official responsible for the safety of international tourists on July 31, calling on French authorities to increase police patrols.
The Paris official said French authorities will continue to increase protection, calling for Chinese tourists to refrain from obviously displaying their wealth, choose hotels carefully, and immediately report to police after being robbed.
