(CNN) -- The Olympic torch relay was disrupted Monday by protesters in Paris demonstrating against the Chinese government, causing authorities to twice extinguish the flame and put the torch on a bus, according to The Associated Press.
An anti-China protester is restrained by French police before Monday's Olympic torch relay begins in Paris
The incident came one day after human-rights activist demonstrators made the torch's journey through London more like running the gauntlet than a journey of celebration, with UK police making more than two dozen arrests.
Thousands of French police are on duty in Paris to protect the Olympic torch, which departed from the Eiffel Tower at around 1030 GMT (0630 ET). It was then due to be carried through the boulevards of the French capital amid anti-China protests, passing landmarks including l'Arc d'Triomphe, the Place de la Concord, The Louvre and Notre Dame.
Thousands of human rights demonstrators have lined the streets of Paris, shouting and waving flags, with police already making several arrests.
Jim Bittermann, CNN's senior European correspondent based in Paris, said that while it was hard to gauge numbers, it looked like thousands of demonstrators had taken to the boulevards -- although some were Chinese backing the Olympics.
"There was a small punch-up between some supporters of Tibet and some supporters of the Olympics," he added.
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. What do you think of protests at the Olympic torch relay?
The relay route in Paris is also significantly shorter than that in London Sunday.
French Olympic champion Marie-Josee Perec, Portugal forward Pedro Miguel Pauleta and badminton player Pi Hongyan are among the featured torch bearers, with some torch bearers expected to wear protest buttons.
The head of Reporters Without Borders, a French-based group that disrupted last month's torch lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece, had earlier told CNN his group has planned "something spectacular" to protest the relay.
At least six groups have permits to protest along the route, but only for demonstrations well away from the flame's path. 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.
In London Sunday, the Olympic torch was met with widespread protests and scuffles between demonstrators and police as thousands turned out to protest Olympic host China's human rights record and its recent clampdown on Tibet. Watch supporters, opponents of Beijing Olympics in London »
Some demonstrators threw themselves at the torch, and at least one tried to snatch it away during the 48-kilometer (31-mile) relay. Another tried to put out the flame with a fire extinguisher. They were quickly pushed back and cuffed by Metropolitan Police, which said its officers made 36 arrests on a variety of charges.
Beijing Olympic spokesman condemned "attempts to sabotage" the London relay, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency. The official was not named in the article.
China has come under international criticism because of its crackdown last month on protesters calling for democratic freedoms and self-rule in Tibet and neighboring Chinese provinces.
The protests have been timed to coincide with the run-up to the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in August. Look at a map of the international torch relay route »
Chinese authorities have denied these kinds of allegations and have accused the Dalai Lama of instigating violence among his followers -- an allegation he rejects. U.S. and other Western leaders have called on China to provide civil rights and freedoms to those in Tibet and to enter peaceful discussions aimed at resolving the crisis.
In most cases, however, the torch passed through London without incident. Tessa Jowell, Britain's Olympics minister, called it "a demanding day for the police" and for the Beijing Organizing Committee, but also noted thousands had come out "to welcome the torch." Watch a report on the torch's journey, Jowell's comments » E-mail to a friend
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