(Minghui.org) In 10 major cities in France, including three overseas departments, Falun Dafa practitioners held rallies on July 17, 2021, to mark the 22nd anniversary of peacefully resisting this persecution. During the events, practitioners demonstrated the exercises, displayed informational posters, handed out information about the spiritual practice, and let people know that it is being persecuted in China.
Support from Elected Officials
Senators and members of congress who sent letters of support:(Top row, left to right) Senate Vice President Ms. Nathalie Delattre, Senator Monique de Marco, MP Jean-Luc Lagleize (Second row, left to right) MP Alain David, Congressman Philippe Naillet, Representative Ms. Fiorella Luna and President of the French Falun Dafa Society Tang Hanlong.
The events received letters of support from senators and members of congress, including Ms. Nathalie Delatte, Vice President of the Senate, and Ms. Monique de Marco, a senator from the Province of Gironde.
MP Jean-Luc Lagleize expressed his support for the practitioners’ 22-year-long journey of resisting the CCP’s persecution. He said practitioners’ persistence raised the public’s awareness of China’s human rights issue and that, “France is particularly concerned about the forced live organ harvesting in China.”
In his letter, Alain David, a member of parliament from the Province of Gironde, condemned the genocidal persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners and Uyghurs in Xinjiang. He said that he would join other members of parliament to continue to condemn the persecution.
In his letter, Congressman Philippe Naillet also condemned the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners.
Toulouse
Practitioners in Toulouse set up an information booth.
Passersby paused to learn more about Falun Dafa at the information booth.
Practitioners in Toulouse, Occitanie, gathered in the city center of Place Charles de Gaulle. Their eye-catching information booth attracted passersby. The practitioners demonstrated the exercises, distributed informational leaflets, and told people about the 22-year-long persecution in China. Many passersby signed the petition to appeal for an end to the persecution of Falun Dafa.
Several passersby thanked the practitioners for the information, as they knew nothing about it previously. They encouraged the practitioners to continue exposing the persecution.
After she read about Falun Dafa and the persecution in China on the poster boards, a lady signed the petition. She said that she had seen a documentary about the destructive nature of the CCP and that what the CCP did was horrible.
After signing the petition, another passerby said, “It is important to expose the persecution in China. The CCP’s lies won’t deceive the world if more people know about the nature of the CCP.”
A young couple who stopped to learn more said, “We know that many goods are made by the imprisoned prisoners of conscience in forced labor camps in China, but we didn’t know anything about forced organ harvesting and trafficking.” They encouraged the practitioners to persevere in their efforts to expose the persecution.
Rally in Nantes
The local newspaper Ouest France covered the rally in Nantes, a city in northwestern France. The article was titled “Falun Gong Practitioners Persecuted for 22 years in China.
Practitioners held a rally in Nantes to condemn the persecution.
Local newspaper Ouest France reported on the rally.
A passerby signed the petition to end the persecution.
More people learned the truth about Falun Dafa and the ongoing persecution at this event. They expressed their support and signed the petition to call for an end to the persecution. Many said this was the first time they had heard about the CCP’s suppression of Falun Dafa.
Some young people told the practitioners, “The Chinese communist regime built an Internet firewall. Many young people have received warnings on social media due to the CCP’s Internet censorship. The CCP has covered up and denied what they did, but there is overwhelming evidence to support the truth.
Rally in Bordeaux
Local newspaper Southwest Morning Post reported on the rally.
Bordeaux in southern France is famous for its red wines. The local newspaper Southwest Morning Post reported on the rally with photos of the practitioners.
The article was titled “Bordeaux: Falun Gong Practitioners Protest the Persecution.”
Many signed the petition. Some people expressed their thanks for the practitioners’ ongoing efforts.
Information Booth in Lyon
Practitioners demonstrate the exercises.
Practitioners from the city of Lyon set up an information booth on St. Jean Square in Lyon’s Old Town. Some demonstrated the exercises, while others handed out information and told passersby about the 22 years of persecution.
Activity in Marseille, France’s Third-largest City
Practitioners in Marseille demonstrated the exercises.
Practitioners in Marseille set up an information booth on the beach in the center of the old port area (au Vieux port). Some demonstrated the exercises, while others clarified the truth to people who stopped by. Many signed the petition.
Eye Catching Information Booth on Guadeloupe
Practitioners demonstrate the exercises in Guadeloupe.
On the Island of Guadaloupe in the Caribbean, practitioners set up an information booth on the beach at Grande-Anse in the island’s Desaix municipality. They also distributed leaflets to people along the beach.
The booth and calming exercise music attracted onlookers. Several tourists stopped by for information and signed the petition.
Many people were shocked to learn that the CCP targets Falun Dafa practitioners for forced organ harvesting. One passerby said he had never read any reports about this in the mainstream media. He thanked the practitioners for the information and encouraged them to “persist for the sake of conscience and freedom.”
Rally on Réunion Island
Practitioners tell people how Falun Dafa is persecuted.
July 17 was a windy, rainy day on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, but practitioners held a rally on Maréchal Leclerc Street in St-Denis to protest the persecution of Falun Dafa in China.
Their rally coincided with a local protest challenging forced vaccine passes, so many people passed the information booth.
Many passersby were touched by the practitioners’ persistence despite the rain and signed the petition.
Martinique
Falun Dafa practitioners in front of the information booth on the Island of Martinique, a department of France.
The island of Martinique in the Caribbean is about 7,000 kilometers from France, making it the farthest overseas department in France. Practitioners there held a rally on the beach in Fort De France, the capital of the province. They demonstrated the exercises and told the passerby about the 22-year-long persecution.
Many passersby watched the rally, accepted introductory brochures about Falun Dafa, and signed the petition calling for an end to the persecution.
Background
Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in China in 1992. Millions of people have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and include five gentle exercises, and experienced uplifted health and well-being.
Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, issued an order to ban the practice.
Falun Dafa practitioners around the world have clarified the truth and continued to expose the persecution over the past 22 years. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide.
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