Olympic torch relay called off in Paris

Chinese officials called off a chaotic relay of the Olympic torch through Paris yesterday after thousands of pro-Tibet protesters tried to block its path and the flame had to be extinguished at least twice.

Police said the Chinese authorities organising the five-hour passage of the torch had decided to give up the road relay after demonstrators protesting against China's crackdown on Tibet constantly snarled its progress and forced lengthy delays.

The torch relay hit trouble almost as soon as it set off from the Eiffel Tower, and regularly ground to halt when protesters threatened to break through the imposing security cordon thrown around the athletes carrying the flame.

"Boycott Chinese goods" and "Save Tibet" read some of the banners held aloft by demonstrators. Other people came to support Beijing and waved Chinese flags above the crowds.

More than four hours after setting out on its 28-kilometre trip, officials finally decided to put the flame on a bus and sped down to the final leg of the relay - a stadium in southern Paris which houses the French Olympic Committee.

Crowds of protesters jeered at the throngs of riot police called up to protect the cortege.

"We are doing our best but it will take the world to put pressure on China to help bring democracy and human rights to Tibet," said Phurbu Dolker, a 21-year-old Tibetan refugee.

The scenes were reminiscent of the protests that hit the torch's passage through London on Sunday, with the build up to the Beijing Olympics rapidly becoming a public relations disaster for the Chinese organisers.

Mayor Bernard Delanoe told reporters the Chinese had cancelled a planned reception for the torch at Paris city hall at the last minute after a banner supporting human rights was hung from the façade of the building.

"The Chinese officials decided they would not stop here because they were put out by Parisian citizens expressing their support for human rights. It is their responsibility," he said.

Earlier police and officials said the Olympic torch had been extinguished at least twice because of technical problems or for safety reasons. On one occasion, it was put out despite the fact that protesters appeared to be well away from the relay team, which was flanked by police on rollerblades.

"Security Fiasco," France 24 television said in a banner headline running on the bottom of its screen.

At least 23 people were briefly detained by police for trying to disturb the relay, a spokesman for the Free Tibet movement said. Television showed one protester lying in the road, his face smeared with blood: "Free Tibet" he shouted.

Militants from rights group Reporters Without Borders chained themselves to the Eiffel Tower and deployed a black flag with handcuffs replacing the Olympic rings.

A member of the French Greens party had earlier been restrained by police when trying to grab the torch from the first of 80 torch bearers, former world 400 metres hurdles champion Stephane Diagana.

France has deployed more than 3,000 police officers for the zig-zagging journey to the southern edge of Paris, where the torch was initially due to arrive at 1500 GMT.

Thousands of protesters waving Tibetan flags and shouting "Shame on China" tried to disrupt the torch's run through London on Sunday, the British leg of the international relay billed by Beijing as the "harmonious journey".

The Olympic flame is expected to remain a magnet for anti-Chinese protests ahead of the August Games in Beijing.

The flame is due to return to Beijing on August 6, two days before it will be used to light the cauldron at the Olympic opening ceremony.