Chinese tourists robbed in Paris

This article is more than 12 months old

Aug 03, 2016 06:00 am

Around six assailants sprayed teargas on Chinese tourists outside a hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport yesterday and made off with their luggage, police and rescue services said.

Two tourists and an interpreter were slightly injured and taken to hospital, rescue workers said.

The attack occurred around 8am (2pm, Singapore time) as the tourists were loading their luggage onto a tour bus, police told AFP.

"Several bags and personal effects were taken," a police official said, adding that the thieves fled the scene and "several passengers were in shock".

Rescue workers said there were 27 Chinese tourists on a tour run by an Italian company and that the coach driver was Italian.

China's increasingly solvent middle class is travelling abroad in greater numbers. Their reputation for carrying large amounts of cash has made them a target of thieves.