Shame! Shame! Shame on China! The Olympic Torch Became A Symbol of
Shame! -- Paris braced for torch protests / BBC
BBC NEWS
Paris braced for torch protests
Hundreds of police will be deployed on the streets of Paris on Monday to
protect the Olympic torch relay from opponents of China's actions in
Tibet.
The 80 runners will be guarded on the 28km (18 mile) route by a cordon
of 65 motorcycles, 200 police on rollerblades or running nearby, and 200
riot police.
Pro-Tibet activists have said they plan to hold demonstrations in the
capital.
Thirty-seven arrests were made in London on Sunday as protesters tried
to seize the torch and disrupt the relay.
At one point, the torch was transferred onto a bus to protect it from
the demonstrators.
The torch was lit in Olympia, Greece, last week and will go through 20
countries before being carried into the Beijing Games opening ceremony
on 8 August.
Security 'bubble'
The Olympic torch arrived at Paris' Charles de Gaulle air****t late on
Sunday after being flown from London with a Chinese security detail.
It was welcomed on the tarmac by the Chinese ambassador to France, Kong
Quan, and former French Olympic athlete Guy Drut.
The flame was then guarded by a convoy of 40 police motorcycles as it
was trans****ted to a hotel that has been surrounded by police.
The Chinese have made sure that for a few hours, Paris will look like
Tiananmen Square
Robert Menard
Re****ters Without Borders
On Monday, police plan to secure a 200m (660ft) perimeter around the
torch as it is carried from the Eiffel Tower, down the Champs-Elysees
towards City Hall, then over the River Seine to the southern Charlety
athletics stadium.
Police hope the elaborate security "bubble" will protect the relay from
the persistent pro-Tibet protests which disrupted its passage through
London. The Paris police chief has said the flame will be protected like
a head of state.
The head of the Paris-based media watchdog, Re****ters Without Borders,
said it had altered its initial plans for similar demonstrations because
of the expected heavy police presence, but nevertheless promised
something "spectacular".
"The Chinese have made sure that for a few hours, Paris will look like
Tiananmen Square," Robert Menard said. "I think it's shameful."
Mr Menard was arrested in Greece last month after disrupting the
torch-lighting ceremony.
Pro-Tibet activists are also planning to hold a day of protests opposite
the Eiffel Tower starting from 1000 (0800 GMT), although not directly on
the relay route.
The mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, has also said he plans to unfurl a
giant banner over city hall saying: "Paris defends human rights
everywhere in the world".
Last month, President Nicolas Sarkozy also left open the possibility of
boycotting the Olympic Games' opening ceremony in Beijing on 8 August.
'Not the right time'
When the Olympic torch passed through London on Sunday, police
repeatedly scuffled with pro-Tibet protesters, with one trying to snatch
the torch and another to put it out with a fire extinguisher.
After an unpublicised change to the route, the Chinese ambassador
carried the torch through Chinatown. It was later moved onto a bus when
the police cordon was surrounded by a large group of protesters.
Several small scuffles broke out as police tackled some of the hundreds
of protesters who gathered along the route.
A small contingent of Chinese sup****ters also tried to make their voices
heard, waving Chinese and Olympic flags and calling for "one China".
Prime Minister Gordon Brown greeted the torch outside Number 10 despite
coming under pressure to boycott the parade and the Beijing Olympics
themselves.
Pictures of the London relay, but initially not the protests and
disruption, were broadcast on Chinese state-controlled TV.
However state-owned Xinhua news agency later re****ted and played down
the "vile misdeeds of the 'Tibet separatist' activists who tried to
disrupt the torch relay".
OLYMPIC TORCH ROUTE
Torch lit in Olympia on 24 March and taken on five-day relay around
Greece to Athens
After handover ceremony, it is taken to Beijing on 31 March to begin a
journey of 136,800 km (85,000 miles) around the world
Torch arrives in Macao on 3 May. After three-month relay all around
China, it arrives in Beijing for opening ceremony on 8 August
Are you planning to watch the torch relay in Paris? Are you planning to
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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7333875.stm
Published: 2008/04/07 02:48:16 GMT
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