FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy sent his personal support yesterday to a wheelchair-bound Chinese athlete who was attacked by a Tibet separatist during the Paris leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay early this month.

In a letter delivered by Christian Poncelet, the visiting French Senate president, Sarkozy said he condemned the attack on Jin Jing, who was forced to shield the torch from the protester during the chaotic Paris leg of the relay.

“I was shocked to see what happened during the torch relay,” Poncelet said in Shanghai, quoting from Sarkozy’s letter. “It is understandable that the Chinese people feel hurt. I hereby strongly condemn what they (the separatists) did.”

“I would like to express to you my deep emotion for the way you were shoved in Paris on April 7,” the letter said. “You showed an outstanding courage.”

Jin, a 27-year-old Paralympic fencer, was hailed as a hero at home after clinging to the torch in the face of the “pro-Tibet independence” protester, who threw himself at her during the relay.

The relentless attack and some French media’s biased reports about China and the Beijing Olympics spurred outrage among Chinese Internet users who have called for boycotts of French-made products and Carrefour, France’s biggest retailer.

Sarkozy invited her to France as his “personal guest,” saying those behind “this painful incident” did not represent the feelings of friendship between the two nations.

The French Ambassador to China Herve Ladsous said yesterday that he “regretted” the disruptions to the Olympic torch relay in Paris, and also hoped to meet Jin.

Poncelet is in China on an official visit from April 21 to 27 at the invitation of China’s top legislator Wu Bangguo.

(SD-Xinhua)