Fury as Chinese man shot dead in Paris

China yesterday urged France to protect its citizens in Paris after police there killed a Chinese father of four, sparking violent protests in which 35 people were arrested.

Paris police said around 150 "members of the Asian community" gathered late Monday outside a police station in the northeast of the capital and clashes broke out.

Three officers were slightly injured in the confrontation and one police vehicle was damaged by an incendiary device.

The angry demonstrators were protesting after a police officer shot and killed the Chinese man on Sunday night.

A police source told AFP that officers were called to his house after reports of a domestic dispute.

The source said the man attacked the officer with a knife "as soon as the door opened", injuring him.

A police colleague then opened fire, killing the Chinese man, authorities say.

Lawyer Calvin Job said the family of the dead man "totally disputes this version of events."

"He didn't injure anyone," Job said, adding that the man had been "trimming fish with a pair of scissors" when the police came to the door. As tempers frayed between Paris and Beijing, the Chinese foreign ministry said it had filed an official complaint to France over the events in the French capital.

Beijing calls on Paris to "guarantee the safety and legal rights and interests of Chinese citizens in France and to treat the reaction of Chinese people to this incident in a rational way," ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing.