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French police faced off with members of the Chinese community during a protest demonstration outside a police station in Paris on March 28, 2017, after a Chinese man was shot dead by police at his Paris home on Sunday, triggering riots in the French capital by members of the Chinese community and a diplomatic protest by Beijing. Reuters

France has suffered a wave of terrorist attacks over the past several years, most notably on Nov. 13, 2015 in Paris and on July 14, 2016 in the southern coastal city of Nice. But on Tuesday, a Chinese official brought up a different security issue, urging France to protect civilians following the Sunday killing of a Chinese man by the Eurozone country’s own police in northeastern Paris.

“The security of all Chinese nationals in France is a priority of the French authorities,” Beijing international affairs spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement, according to French broadcaster BFMTV.

Read: Protests Turn Violent In Paris Suburb After French Police Rape Man With Baton

He added that the Chinese government requested French officials be as transparent as possible in their investigation of the incident, in which a 56-year-old Chinese man, Shaoyo Liu, was killed by police in the 19th arrondissement of the French capital.

Liu’s death triggered mass violent protests in the city organized by Chinese groups in France. Of the 150 protesters, 35 people were arrested — 26 for participating in violent group activity, three for violence against police and vandalism of a police vehicle, and six for throwing projectiles at security forces, Le Monde reported. Three police officers were injured, and one police car was completely engulfed in flames due to what the newspaper described as an “incendiary device.”

Read: Controversial French Labor Protest Movement Sees Police Crackdown In Paris

The Sunday incident reportedly began as a domestic dispute in which police, responding to a call, fatally shot Liu in front of one of his daughters after kicking down the door to his apartment. Although neighbors who called the authorities told police they’d heard screams and the police involved reportedly claimed Liu tried to attack them with scissors, the family’s lawyer disputed this. Liu had a history with law enforcement, having been arrested in his home and committed to a psychiatric ward five years earlier.

The investigation was ongoing as of Tuesday afternoon.

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