Carrefour

An email petition swirling around the internet (search the Chinese characters to see the dozens of Chinese blogs carrying this):

重大消息: 法国政府准备拿出二千万美金，家乐福自己再拿出五百万美金，用于五一降价促消，听说家乐福高层很狂妄，让中国人在五一降价中挤破家乐福，最好踩死几个人．法国电视台也在积极做准备，拍摄中国人到家乐福疯狂购物的镜像．让中国人自打自的嘴．
如你是爱国的中国人，把此信息传给你的亲戚朋友，不要到家乐福购物，不要为了丁点的小便宜，而丢了尊严，丢了民族志气，让外国人笑话．再不能让外国人把我们看作东亚病夫了.虽然我们的努力可能微不足道,但大家团结起来一定要让外国人看看我们的力量,有良心的中国人转发10个朋友

SHTig Quick Translation: Important Information: The French government is preparing US$ 20,000,000, and Carrefour is preparing US$5,000,000 for a May 1st sales promotion. It’s said that Carrefour’s senior management is insolently planning to cram pack its stores on May 1st with Chinese people, with the hopefully result of causing some people to be trampled to death. French television is also actively preparing to record the mad rush of Chinese shoppers at Carrefour stores, to show Chinese people smashing each other up.

If you are a patriotic Chinese, send this information to your friends and family, and don’t go shopping at Carrefour to chase some tiny discount that will cause loss of respect, national spirit and will make the foreigners laugh. We can’t let the foreigners once again make us the sick men of East Asia. Even though our efforts might turn out to be negligible, by us all uniting together it will show our strength to the foreigners. Good hearted Chinese people please send this to 10 friends.

SHTig’s Quick Comments:

1. I don’t believe this in full, especially the ridiculous part about trampling and wanting the Chinese to lose face. I did go shopping at Carrefour on April 13 in Shanghai. They had a very good promotion running (spend RMB500 on select items, get a voucher for RMB250 to be used within April). April 13 was a Sunday. The store was crowded, but not nearly as it usually is. The checkout line was shorter than normal. Anecdotal.

2. This note has an unnecessary pandering tone to “the foreigners” as it is. Are any of us foreigners really that important?

3. Carrefour is an unfortunate target in all of this (as is the Olympic torch). Can someone tell these petitioners that Carrefour is not a State-owned enterprise, so attacking it is not akin to attacking the French government?

4. One thing is universal with these spam requests — no matter what the language, they beckon you to forward them to others. Would be funny if they had added “send this to 10 people or else your daughter will hook up with a laowai”

NATOR ADDS: I got this letter, with ” 爱国的中国人转发50个 ” (“Patriotic Chinese people please send this to 50 friends”) added to the last sentence.