Chinese president arrives for French visit

LYON, France, Oct 22 (AFP) - President Jiang Zemin of China arrived in France on Friday to start the second leg of a six nation tour of European and Arab nations.

Jiang, accompanied by his wife Wang Yeping and a government delegation, flew from Britain to the central French city of Lyon to a red carpet welcome, amid strict security.

He will spend five days in France -- a private weekend in Lyon and the country chateau of President Jacques Chirac, followed by a two-day state visit starting Sunday night.

As he arrived, several hundred protesters joined exiled Chinese dissidents in the centre of Lyon for a demonstration against the visit. The rally was called by Amnesty International and a Tibetan acitivist group to condemn human rights in China.

Opponents have vowed to do everything possible to ruin the five-day stay by the Chinese leader. More demonstrations are planned for the weekend and next week in Paris. Jiang's four-day stay in Britain was marked by protests that the British authorities struggled to keep out of Jiang's sight.

Tight security was imposed however at Lyon airport, where Jiang was greeted by Jean-Jacques Queyranne, Secretary of State for Overseas Territories and head of the ruling Socialist party in the Rhone-Alps region that takes in the city.

He walked along a red carpet to a further greeting from around 100 members of the Chinese community in Lyon. Students put up a banner, written in Chinese characters, which read: "Chinese students of Lyon welcome President Jiang Zemin and his wife."

In a brief statement to journalists, Jiang sent to "the great people of France, the cordial greetings from the people of China."

The Chinese president's first engagement was to be a reception hosted by Raymond Barre, a former prime minister and now mayor of Lyon.

He will hold talks with Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin during the stay.