PARIS, March 22, 2007 (AFP) - A Chinese man has spent a record 23,000 euros (30,700 dollars) on wine and spirits at the duty free store at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport, the Paris airports authority (ADP) said Thursday.

The man, an artist from Canton, on Tuesday bought a 1945 Mouton Rothschild for 13,800 euros, an 1806 Cognac that cost 5,000 euros and several other bottles. He then boarded a flight of Beijing.

"He's a collector of rare bottles who knows us here very well. He comes once or twice a year. This time he asked us to find some prize vintages from post-1960. He'll be back," said Linda Chong, the sales assistant who supervised the purchase.

Copyright AFP

Subject: French news