Chinese reporters and officials of the French high-end retail group Galeries Lafayette attend the breakfast meeting in Paris, capital of France, Feb. 22, 2008. Galeries Lafayette held on Friday morning a breakfast meeting to make an apology to the Chinese tourists who have been treated insultingly while shopping in Lafayette Feb. 11, 2008. Accused of using forged notes, a Chinese couple from east China's Zhejiang Province suffered wrongful treatment while shopping at Galeries Lafayette Feb. 11, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A China Tourism Association official suggested on Saturday that Chinese tourists avoid shopping in the Paris-based Galeries Lafayette.

    The unnamed official said the association was concerned about an incident where two Chinese tourists were treated insultingly while shopping in the famed French department store.

    "We are discontent and regretted that Chinese tourists were treated so rudely in Paris. We suggest travelers not to go shopping in the store before the incident is properly handled."

    He asked domestic travel agencies to suspend organizing tourists to visit Lafayette.

    He urged the French high-end retail group and concerned departments to properly solve the issue and avoid such kind of incidents in future.

    China and France have good diplomatic relations. Bilateral tourism exchanges have been growing quickly in the past few years. Although the recent incident had seriously hurt the two victims, the official still believed the French side would try to minimize the influence of the issue and create a friendly environment for Chinese tourists.

    A newlywed couple from the eastern Zhejiang Province were accused of using a forged note while paying for a purchase at Lafayette on Feb. 11. They were then taken to a police station where they were questioned and searched.

    After a bank expert identified the note was real, the couple returned to the cashier who again refused the note and insisted to claim it was counterfeit.

    The French department store on Friday made a formal apology to the couple.

Paul Delaoutre, president of the French high-end retail group Galeries Lafayette makes an apology at the breakfast meeting with Chinese media in Paris, capital of France, Feb. 22, 2008.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>