BEIJING: French retail giant Carrefour conducted business as usual in its many China stores on Friday, after a May Day protest movement calling for a boycott fizzled out, store officials said.

"A couple of students were handing out flyers (calling for the boycott) earlier this morning, but by noon they had left," a store official in southwest China's Chongqing city told AFP by phone.

"We opened normally and have been operating normally."

Hundreds of protesters had gathered on Thursday at Carrefour outlets in Chinese cities, including Beijing, Chongqing, Shenyang, Changsha and Fuzhou, according to state press reports.

Many were holding Chinese national flags and shouting slogans against Carrefour and Tibet independence, while showing support for the August Beijing Olympics.

The protests did not appear to interrupt business at the stores.

Store workers in Shenyang and Beijing also said they had not seen any protesters on Friday.

Anti-French protests first broke out weeks ago amid anger at the chaotic Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay last month when pro-Tibet activists tried to grab the flame from Jin Jing, a wheelchair-bound Chinese athlete.

Chinese were also angered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy's refusal to rule out staying away from the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing on August 8 unless it opened talks with Tibet's exiled leader the Dalai Lama.

The Chinese rumour mill had further turned up the heat by suggesting that Carrefour supported the Dalai Lama – charges it has denied.

Thursday's protests came despite France's efforts to ease the anger last week when three senior French figures visited Beijing.


- AFP/so