| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Europe | |
| Olympic torch extinguished during Paris leg | |
| 2008-04-07 | |
| The Olympic torch has been extinguished by officials and put on a bus during the Paris leg of its relay amid anti-China protests, The Associated Press has reported. The incident came one day after anti-Chinese demonstrators made its journey through London more like running the gauntlet than a journey of celebration. Thousands of French police are on duty to protect the Olympic torch after it departed from the Eiffel Tower at around 1030 GMT (0630 ET). It is then due to be carried through the boulevards of the French capital amid threats of protests. Paris police have conceived a security plan to keep the torch in a safe "bubble," during its 17-mile (28 km) journey, with a multi-layered protective force to surround the torch as it moves along the route. French torchbearers will be encircled by several hundred officers, some in riot police vehicles and on motorcycles, others on rollerblades and on foot. Chinese torch escorts will immediately surround the torchbearer, with Paris police on rollerblades moving around them. French firefighters in jogging shoes will encircle the officers on rollerblades while motorcycle police will form the outer layer of security.
But the head of Reporters Without Borders, a French-based group that disrupted last month's torch lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece, has told CNN his group has planned "something spectacular" to protest the relay. Some torch bearers are expected to wear protest buttons while the Paris mayor has ordered a banner over City Hall that reads "Paris City of Human Rights." On Monday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said all options remained open for Paris concerning a possible boycott of the opening of the Beijing Olympics, The Associated Press reported. After it has left the Eiffel Tower, the torch was scheduled to be carried past Parisian landmarks including the Arc d'Triomphe, the Place de la Concord, The Louvre and Notre Dame. French Olympic champion Marie-Josee Perec, Portugal forward Pedro Miguel Pauleta and badminton player Pi Hongyan are among the featured torch bearers. At least six groups have permits to protest along the route, but only for demonstrations well away from the flame's path. | |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #2 Guys on TV look like People's Armed Police |
| Posted by: Sonny Angusomble6910 2008-04-07 12:43 |
| #1 Chinese torch escorts will immediately surround the torchbearer... I'll bet they have interesting...resumes. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-04-07 11:10 |