For the newlyweds from east China's Zhejiang Province, their honeymoon in Paris, one of the world's most romantic cities, was supposed to be a memory to cherish for the rest of their lives.

What it became was a nightmare they will find it hard to forget, after their treatment at the hands of a French department store and police officers made headlines across the world and sparked an international spat.

On the morning of February 11, the couple, together with other Chinese tourists in their tour group, were led by their guide to the Galeries Lafayette department store, which has a shopping section especially for Chinese tourists, staffed by Chinese assistants. According to business insiders, Galeries Lafayette is more popular among Chinese tourists than other stores in the city because tour guides who take people there receive a larger slice of takings, given to them as an incentive, than at other shops.

It was when the couple picked up a Longines watch and went to the counter to pay for it that the trouble began, according to the Chinese-language media in France. The cashier held that a 50-euro note the couple tried to pay with was a fake and called the store security guards. The couple, who spoke no French, was taken to a security room and left there for more than half an hour.

A translator and an expert in examining banknotes were brought to the security room and the couple were taken to the local police station after the expert claimed that the note was indeed fake.

The newlyweds were kept at the police station for almost five hours and claim to have been treated in an insulting manner. They were asked to undress for a search and their underwear was cut up with scissors. Finally they were handcuffed and locked up with real criminals.

The Chinese couple was later proved innocent when the translator came and told the police the note was found to be real and they were set free. They asked the police to go back to the store with them to help clarify the matter but were turned down.

Then the couple asked the translator to go back to the department store with them. The translator agreed only on condition that the couple gave him half of all the money they had with them. At last the couple took a taxi back to the store alone.

At the store they insisted on paying with the 50-euro banknote that was proven to be genuine, but the cashier called in security again. The couple wanted to file a complaint to the store, but nobody would come out to receive them. It was not until 9 p.m., when the Chinese consulate in Paris intervened, that the management of the department store agreed to deal with the issue the next day.

Paul Delaoutre, President of the French high-end retail group Galeries Lafayette made an apology on February 20 to the Chinese Embassy in France. The Chinese Embassy demanded an open apology, economic compensation for the couple and punishment for those responsible for their mistreatment.

Two days later Galeries Lafayette held a breakfast meeting to make an apology to the Chinese tourists.

"We officially and sincerely apologize to the young Chinese couple, the other tour members and all the Chinese people who were hurt by this incident," said Paul Delaoutre, President of Galeries Lafayette.

The president said Chinese tourists are the biggest-spending foreign consumers in Lafayette and promised his department store would take all necessary measures to avoid similar incidents in the future, including improving the tourist reception facilities and establishing a Chinese-language complaint reception hotline.

In late February, a China Tourism Association (CTA) official suggested that Chinese tourists avoid shopping in Galeries Lafayette, saying the association was concerned about the incident.

"We are discontent and regret that Chinese tourists were treated so rudely in Paris. We suggest travelers not to go shopping in the store until the incident is properly resolved." The association also asked domestic travel agencies to suspend organizing trips to Lafayette.

Some travel agencies in Zhejiang Province have already canceled Galeries Lafayette as a shopping stop for their tour groups.

China and France have enjoyed good diplomatic relations and their bilateral tourism exchanges have been growing rapidly in recent years. Although the incident upset the Chinese couple involved, a CTA official said he believes the French side will try to minimize the influence of the issue and create a friendly environment for Chinese tourists.