Last run of Paris Olympic torch relay canceled following protests

PARIS – Organizers canceled the final leg of the Olympic run through Paris after chaotic protests Monday, snuffing out the torch and putting it aboard a bus in a humiliating concession to protesters decrying China’s human rights record.\nWorried officials extinguished the torch and placed it on the bus five times throughout the day as protesters tried to grab the torch and block the relay. At least two activists got almost an arm’s length away before they were seized by police.\nAnother protester threw water at the torch but failed to put it out before being taken away.\nThe 17.4-mile route started at the Eiffel Tower, headed down the Champs-Elysées toward City Hall, then crossed the Seine before ending at the Charlety track and field stadium.\nThe chaos started at the Eiffel Tower moments after the relay began. Green Party activist Sylvain Garel lunged for the first torchbearer, former hurdler Stephane Diagana, and shouted “Freedom for the Chinese!” before security officials pulled him back.\nThe torch moved on but was soon put out by security officers and placed aboard the bus after a crowd of activists waving Tibetan flags confronted the torchbearer on a road along the Seine.\nThe torch went back on the bus less than an hour later after the procession was halted by activists who booed and chanted “Tibet!”\n“We respect that right for people to demonstrate peacefully, but equally there is a right for the torch to pass peacefully and the runners to enjoy taking part in the relay,” International Olympic Committee spokeswoman Giselle Davies told The Associated Press.\nSecurity officials appeared to interrupt the procession for the third time simply because they had spotted demonstrators ahead. Protesters threw plastic bottles, cups and pieces of bread at the bus, and at a male athlete in a wheelchair.\n“Nothing is happening as planned. It’s unfortunate,” Diagana told France 2 television.\nThe torch went back inside the bus a fourth time shortly after a protester approached it with a fire extinguisher near the Louvre. Officers grabbed the demonstrator before he could start to spray. Police said later that at least 28 people had been taken into custody.\nThe flame was whisked into a bus for the last time outside the National Assembly, where protesters gathered and a banner on the building read: “Respect for Human Rights in China.”\nOther demonstrators scaled the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame cathedral and hung banners depicting the Olympic rings as handcuffs.\n“The flame shouldn’t have come to Paris,” said protester Carmen de Santiago, who had “free” painted on one cheek and “Tibet” on the other.\nActivists carrying Chinese flags held counter-demonstrations.\n“The Olympic Games are about sports. It’s not fair to turn them into politics,” said Gao Yi, a Chinese second-year doctoral student studying computer science in Paris.\nPolice had drawn up an elaborate plan to keep the torch in a safe “bubble,” hoping to prevent the chaos that marred the relay Sunday in London, where police repeatedly scuffled with activists angry about China’s human rights record.\nOne protester tried to grab the torch; another tried to put out the flame with what appeared to be a fire extinguisher. Thirty-seven people were arrested.\nIn Paris, about 3,000 officers were deployed on motorcycles, in jogging gear and with inline roller skates. Torchbearers were encircled by several hundred officers. Boats patrolled the Seine River, which slices through the French capital, and a helicopter flew overhead.\nFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy has left open the possibility of boycotting the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing depending on how the situation evolves in Tibet. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday that was still the case.