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2008-04-07 22:29:13
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PARIS (Reuters) - The Olympic torch had to be extinguished during the Paris leg of its marathon relay on Monday, police said.
Protests over China's crackdown on Tibet forced organizers to put the Olympic torch on a bus to protect it from demonstrators shortly after it set off from the Eiffel Tower.
The torch then had to be extinguished because of a technical problem, a spokesman for the Paris police told Reuters. After a brief interruption the torch was re-lit and the relay resumed.
France has deployed more than 3,000 police officers along the 28 km (17 mile) Paris leg of the relay, from the Eiffel Tower to the Charlety stadium on the southern edge of the city, where the torch was due to arrive at 11:00 a.m. EDT.
(Reporting by Thierry Leveque; Writing by Patrick Vignal, Editing by Tim Pearce)