The first French Infantry Detachment to arrive in Shanghai landed on January 1, 1927, when this city was seriously threatened by the Chinese civil war between the South and North, and the Concession authorities were isolating their territory from the Nantao district, where labour unrest and political riots were menace ing the settlements, With the Concession overcrowded with refugees, there was hardly any quarters available for the landing detachment, but immediately on their arrival the men were enthusiastically received by the authorities headed by M. P. E. Naggiar, (at that time local French Consul-General) and with the ce-operation of the foreign residents, they were immediately accommodated.
The arrival of the troops was particularly timely, and helped much to preserve the Concession from the disorders -then rampant outside the settlements. Iron gates were constructed, replacing barbed wire defences on Bouleverd de Deux Re-publique; blockhouses were constructed; and an ever-watchful steel thrown around the to preserve peace and order ever since.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.