(Minghui.org) Practitioners were invited to participate in the annual Association Day in the city of Figanières on September 7, 2024. On September 9, they held an event at the Place du Général Leclerc in Tours to introduce Falun Dafa and raise awareness of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution.

Located on the banks of the Loire and Cher rivers, Tours is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. Known as the “Garden of France”, it was once the royal capital and a major center of the silk industry. It has castles on the Loire River and this famous city features history, culture and art.

The practitioners’ event was held in front of the Tours train station. After learning about Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong), many people signed a petition condemning the CCP’s persecution and calling for an end to the CCP’s forced organ harvesting. Some people were eager to learn more about the spiritual practice and wanted to further explore what is happening in China. They encouraged practitioners to persevere and do their best to expose the 25-year-long genocide. One said, “I don’t know why I passed by here today, but now I understand that this encounter with you is very important.”

Practitioners held an event in Tours, France on September 9, 2024 to tell people about the persecution of Falun Dafa

Françoise and Michelle are sisters. They talked with practitioners about Falun Dafa as soon as the event started. A practitioner told them that Falun Dafa is a high-level spiritual practice. Practitioners follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and strive to constantly improve their character and assimilate to the characteristics of the universe. In 1999, millions of people practiced Falun Dafa. Former CCP head Jiang Zemin started the persecution out of jealousy. The persecution is still going on today, and the means of persecution are extreme, even to the point of harvesting organs from practitioners while they are still alive.

They were appalled. They signed the petition and said they would tell their friends and family about the persecution. They returned that afternoon and asked to learn the Falun Dafa exercises. They said they would go to the bookstore and buy Falun Dafa’s main book Zhuan Falun.

After reading the display posters, Alexander was surprised that the persecution existed, and said the media never reported it. He immediately signed the petition. He said the Falun Dafa practice is meaningful. He got all the information so that he could learn Falun Dafa online.

Ms. Clara, 86, said she has devoted her life to humanitarian work in India. She was not surprised that the state-sponsored crimes of China's regime were not punished and said, “Since we know this barbaric behavior exists, we have an obligation to talk about it. Thank you for providing this information. Please continue to pay attention to this issue. It is very important.”

After reading the posters, a woman asked for more information about Falun Dafa and the persecution in China. She signed a petition to end China’s live organ harvesting. She thanked the practitioners for giving her a deeper understanding of the issue.

A veteran was upset after learning about the persecution in China. He immediately signed the petition and wanted to donate money to help Falun Dafa practitioners who are persecuted in China. A practitioner thanked him, but declined the donation. She said that instead he could tell more people about Falun Dafa.

Teaching the Exercises in a Small Town

Figanières is a small town in southeastern France, near the Mediterranean Sea, and is part of the Var department.

On September 7, 2024, practitioners from the Farandole des Cœurs Association were invited to attend the town’s annual association day to introduce Falun Dafa and the Falun Dafa’s main book Zhuan Falun, which was written by Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa.

A passer-by signs the petition.

Many people were drawn to their activity and wanted to learn about Falun Dafa. They were pleased that the exercises are taught for free. One person told the practitioners: “It’s really encouraging to meet people like you. The exercise classes are free. You are such a model of kindness. Thank you!”

During the event, many people learned that the CCP violently persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners for 25 years and even forcibly harvested their organs. They strongly condemned this inhuman behavior and signed the petition to express their support for practitioners.

A local resident said, “This is intolerable and unacceptable. I found real information here.”

A practitioner told him, “This is the behavior of the Chinese communist government. The CCP is spreading lies and slandering Falun Dafa.” After listening carefully, the man said, “Thank you. I will pass your information on to people around me. More people must know what is happening over there.”