Paris: The Paris leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay was cut short today after citywide protests against China's crackdown in Tibet, police said.

The torch was put on a bus outside the French parliament to be carried the last half of its trip to a stadium in the south of the city.

Pro-Tibetan demonstrators had disrupted the torch relay through Paris, forcing officials to take refuge on a bus.

The decision to call off the final stages of the relay came shortly after the Paris mayor cancelled a ceremony to mark the passage of the torch in front of the city hall.

Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said he had called it off after Chinese officials refused to let the torch stop in the square in front of city hall.

Delanoe made his announcement after Green party members of the city council draped over the facade of city hall a Tibetan flag along with a black banner with the Olympic rings turned into handcuffs.

Source : PTI