(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners in France participated in the Forum of Alternatives held in Annecy, a border town in France, from September 23 to 24, 2017. They introduced the traditional spiritual discipline of Falun Gong during the event, offered free teaching, and raised public awareness about the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of the practice in China.

Annecy is located in southeastern France near Switzerland and is the largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Falun Gong practitioners participate in the Forum of Alternatives in Annecy, France. Many visitors paused to learn more about Falun Gong.

Many visitors to the event were not familiar with Falun Gong and paused to learn more about the practice. A practitioner explained, “The principles of Falun Gong are Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. There are five exercises as well, including a seated meditation. The book Zhuan Falun expounds upon the principles of the practice.”

When people learned about the CCP's persecution in China, many signed the petition against the persecution.

One visitor stopped by and said she was happy to see Falun Gong at the forum. She was interested in qigong, but the qigong schools that she'd contacted in Asia all charged a fee to learn. When a practitioner told her that Falun Gong is always taught for free, the woman was moved and said that she would learn Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioners teach the exercises during the event in Annecy.

A total of five free one-hour teaching sessions were offered during the two-day event. Falun Gong was so popular that each session ran over the scheduled time. To meet the needs of the visitors, the practitioners taught an additional session outdoors.

Albert and his friends learned the Falun Gong exercises on Sunday morning and then participated in the afternoon session. He said he felt strong energy while doing the exercises.

Domique said after learning the exercises, “I feel refreshed, just like getting up in the morning for a new day. I felt warm when doing the exercises. It was so comfortable.”

Another visitor said, “The hand gestures were slow and gradual. I felt so relaxed and truly enjoyed it.”

A number of people talked with the practitioners after learning the exercises and bought a copy of Zhuan Falun.