Tibetan Protests Rise In Europe

First in London and now in Paris, pro-Tibet protesters are disrupting the Olympic torch relay, and in the case of Paris, canceled the presentation.

A relay of the Olympic torch through Paris was canceled on Monday and the flame was put on a bus at the request of Chinese officials after pro-Tibetan protesters repeatedly disrupted its progress.

Chinese authorities decided to scratch the torch relay after human rights activists and pro-Tibet protests disrupted the passage of the flame in the French capital, forcing security officials to partly speed the flame through the streets of Paris in a bus.

Despite a heavy police escort, organizers had to twice extinguish the flame briefly after hundreds of pro-Tibet activists disrupted its progress.

The flame reaches San Francisco for its only American stop on Wednesday. Hundreds of police officers are expected to shroud the ceremony, and the route has been shifted and altered in an attempt to outflank the expected protesters. Meanwhile, European governments are mulling over potential boycotts of the opening ceremonies.

The situation is essentially that the International Olympic Committee currently has the most leverage over the Chinese government's behavior in Tibet, and their human rights record generally. And so these proposed boycotts, most recently discussed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, make more than a symbolic statement. Hillary Clinton is calling on George Bush to follow suit (which is unlikely, because he digs sports). Hold Fast Blog has a lot more.

UPDATE: There are now 3 protestors carrying signs on the spans of the Golden Gate Bridge. SFist has the story.