French retailer set for May Day protests

The Chinese campaign to boy­cott Carrefour, 1 May 2008, the French supermarket chain, has emerged as a test of Beijing’s efforts to stem the anti-foreign sentiment threatening to undermine the Olympics and infect China’s engagement with the west. Carrefour has become a symbol in China of nationalist anger against foreigners in the wake of recent clashes in Tibet and the subsequent protests against the Olympics torch relay in Europe, the US and Asia.