Police use tear gas at pro-Tibet protesters at Chinese Embassy in Paris

PARIS: Police used tear gas to repel pro-Tibet demonstrators who protested Sunday outside the Chinese Embassy in Paris.

One protester managed to climb the front of the embassy building and take down the red Chinese flag that hangs there. The man tried to hang a Tibetan flag in its place, but a police officer prevented him from unfurling it by snapping the flag pole.

A French official later returned the Chinese flag that was taken down to the embassy's No. 2 diplomat, police said. Police estimated that 550 demonstrators took part in the protest. They made several arrests and used tear gas when demonstrators tried to break through their lines.

Some protesters had Tibetan flags draped over their shoulders or carried placards with slogans that urged an end to killings in Tibet and expressed support for the Dalai Lama.

Buddhist monks and others torched police cars and shops during protests in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, last week, in the fiercest challenge to Beijing's rule over the region in nearly two decades.

Supporters of the Dalai Lama said 80 people were killed.

France's Foreign Ministry said Sunday it is "very worried" by the events in Tibet. Noting that Beijing will hold the Olympic Games this August, France reminded China of "the importance of respecting human rights."

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