(Minghui.org) Over 1,000 Falun Dafa practitioners from more than 30 countries gathered at Place de la République in Paris on August 26, 2023 for a large scale group exercise. The peaceful scene and beautiful music attracted much attention from both local residents and tourists.
Practitioners from across Europe do the Falun Dafa exercises at Place de la République on August 26, 2023.
Cleansing Mind and Body
Dankl Wegl, a software engineer for Siemens in Germany, was pleased to see the group exercise when he visited Paris. When he heard that practitioners are mistreated in China for their belief in the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, he was surprised that such human rights abuses can occur in the modern world. He encouraged practitioners and said, “You are doing the right thing. Please keep it up.”
Chantal Demain and Myriele Le Francois
Two women, Chantal Demain and Myriele Le Francois, were also happy to meet practitioners. Ms. Demain said she appreciates Falun Dafa and wished practitioners success. Ms. Le Francois said she felt that the principle of Forbearance is very important. “I could see this in you [practitioners] and I will work on it too,” she said. Neither had previously heard about the forced organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They both said they hope this atrocity ends soon.
Nourridine from Algeria
Nourridine, a construction worker from Algeria, told a practitioner that he used to practice martial arts. Drawn by the scene of the large scale group practice, he took some pictures and said, “The principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are very good. They give us energy and help cleanse our minds.” He said he was also impressed with the peaceful exercises and their health benefits.
Many people talked with practitioners during the event at Place de la République.
Passersby sign a petition calling to end the persecution of Falun Dafa in China.
Safeguarding Freedom of Belief
Two teachers sign the petition.
Two teachers were passing by Place de la République, when they saw the event and stopped to learn more. A practitioner explained what Falun Dafa is, that it is practiced in over 100 countries, and then talked about the suppression in China. They both signed a petition to support practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution. Having been to China 20 years ago, the teachers know that there is no freedom of belief there and they hoped the situation would change.
Jaber Al-Tawil was saddened to learn about the persecution in China
Jaber Al-Tawil, a local retiree, said he was sorry to hear about the brutal persecution in China. “I cannot imagine how a government could mistreat its people so badly,” he said. “I will sign this petition because we have to safeguard the freedom of belief.”
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