Three French cyclists, who travelled through the streets of Guwahati on their bicycles on Thursday on way to Shillong amidst the indefinite curfew, said they did not face any problem from the protesters or police.

Cedric, Chummany and Mikael said they are on a cross-continent cycle trip from France to Myanmar. The trio said they had entered India from Nepal a week ago.

Asked by a correspondent — who met the cyclists in front of the state secretariat —whether they had faced any problem because of the largescale protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and the indefinite curfew, Cedric said: “No problem. In some places the police stopped us and asked us why we were cycling during protests. When we told them that we are on a cycling trip from France to Myanmar, they allowed us to go.”

Cedric, who is in his 40s, added: “Curfew is not new to us. We have seen such situations (curfew) in France too. We have lots of protests against the government in our country.”

Asked whether they are scared, he said: “A little, but local people have helped us a lot by telling us which roads to avoid. We cycle in the day and take rest in any lodge or hotel at night.”

He added that they would go to Shillong from Guwahati and then move to Silchar. From Silchar they will cycle to Manipur and then enter Myanmar through Moreh.

They travelled through the arterial Guwahati-Shillong Road to reach the Meghalaya capital which virtually turned into a war zone as protesters vandalised shops and buildings, burnt tyres and clashed with security forces.

An Indian guide is with the three French nationals to help them pass safely through Guwahati.

Thousands of people defied curfew in Guwahati on Thursday and took to the streets, prompting the police to open fire even as protests against the contentious bill intensified in Assam.