France to reinforce Chinese safety

PARIS - France pledged to further secure Chinese safety after a violent attack on Chinese students in southwest France, a government official said Tuesday.

At a daily briefing, Foreign Affairs Ministry's spokesman Philippe Lalliot said "French authorities immediately condemned with the strongest terms these xenophobic attacks," while expressing Paris' "full solidarity with the families of the victim and (we) are in close contact with the Chinese authorities."

Lalliot stressed that French authorities "ensure that the Chinese residents in France receive the warmest welcome and ensure their safety."

Lalliot noted that three suspects have been arrested and will be prosecuted and punished.

The perpetrators will be judged on charges of assaulting six Chinese oenology students on Friday night at their home in Hostens, south of western Gironde Province.

A 20-year-old female student was seriously wounded in the face and was hospitalized in Bordeaux for further treatment.