KEAN:
And the streets of Paris were filled yesterday, as Tibetan and human rights demonstrators followed the Olympic torch route, just a day after similar large-scale protests in London. Here's more:
STORY:
Besides the usual crowds of Tibetans, Monday's protests were joined by elected officials, including members of parliament.
And from the very beginning, the torch was repeatedly delayed because of the sheer number of protesters. The torch also died twice en route, police say because of technical difficulties, and was eventually put on a bus when the protests became too much.
Chinese organizers also cancelled a reception for the torch in front of Paris city hall, after they noticed a large banner supporting human rights.
Another large banner could be seen on the Eiffel Tower, courtesy of the Paris-basd organization "Reporters Without Borders."
The President of Reporters Without Borders had said on Sunday that he wanted to find a peaceful way to protest the games:
[Robert Menard, President, Reporters Without Borders]:
"We don't want to take any initiative that could give credit to what Beijing is saying, that is that all the people, including us, who are taking position to denounce the violation of human rights in Tibet and China are dangerous thugs who are manipulated and manipulate each other."
But scuffles did break out around city hall, as Chinese and Tibetan demonstrators pushed each other and tried to grab each others flags.
A spokesman for the Free Tibet movement said at least 23 people were briefly detained by police.
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