The French president Emmanuel Macron’s decision to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to France has sparked anger among the Uyghur community in France. The Uyghur people consider Xi Jinping to be responsible for the genocide and persecution of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, China. Many Western countries, including France, have denounced the ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs. The French National Assembly passed a resolution in January 2022 condemning the genocide and calling on the government to do the same.

Since 2017, more than a million Uyghurs and members of other Muslim ethnic groups have been interned in “re-education camps” in China. These camps have been widely criticized for numerous human rights violations. The Chinese government claims that these facilities are vocational training centers aimed at providing skills to the residents and steering them away from extremism. However, many Uyghurs who have been released from these camps have shared stories of surveillance, discrimination, and cultural suppression.

Uyghur activists in France, such as sociologist Dilnur Reyhan and Gulbahar Haitiwaji, who spent three years in a camp, are calling for the closure of these facilities and the release of millions of Uyghurs who are still detained. They are disappointed by Macron’s decision to welcome Xi Jinping despite the human rights abuses being committed against the Uyghur people. They accuse Macron of prioritizing economic and political interests over human rights and the plight of the Uyghurs.