Harrying the torch

San Francisco police expressed mounting concern about their ability to provide safe passage for the Olympic torch relay after swarms of activists protesting China’s human rights record shut down the event in Paris on Monday, forcing officials to repeatedly snuff out the iconic flame.

Traditionally a celebratory show that whets the appetite for the Olympics, the torch relay this year has turned into a rolling -- and intensifying -- confrontation over the Chinese government’s religious and political persecution. The superpower’s recent actions in Tibet have been a particular focus.

Authorities in San Francisco, which on Wednesday will host the only North American leg of the relay, said they had closely watched events in London on Sunday and in Paris.

“We have a lot of concerns,” said Sgt. Neville Gittens, a San Francisco police spokesman. “I don’t want to identify them, but this is not a contained route security-wise, and there are lots of opportunities for trouble. We’re watching what’s going on very closely and will make changes to our plans as we figure them out.”

Mayor Gavin Newsom met with Chinese officials in San Francisco on Monday to review security measures, which include requiring all rank-and-file police officers to report to work Wednesday. Meanwhile, at least two neighboring police departments have been asked to provide reinforcements, the California Highway Patrol will be on hand and the FBI is on standby, officials said.

In the Bay Area, the protest against China’s recent violent crackdown in Tibet began long before the torch’s arrival. Three activists climbed the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday morning to unfurl pro-Tibetan banners.

The Chinese government Tuesday condemned the demonstrations as the work of a small number of Tibetan separatists.

“Their despicable activities tarnish the lofty Olympic spirit and challenge all the people loving the Olympic games around the world,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement on the ministry’s website.

Chinese censors obstructed foreign TV broadcasts on the Paris protests, blacking out BBC reports. Meanwhile, China’s domestic media trumpeted the success of the torch relay.

“French passion greets torch in Paris,” declared a front-page headline in Tuesday’s China Daily.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a different view, saying protesters should “show how displeased they are with [China’s] policies.” Meanwhile, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-New York), suggesting that President Bush boycott the opening ceremony in Beijing, said: “These events underscore why I believe the Bush administration has been wrong to downplay human rights in its policy toward China.”

In Paris, where police wrestling with street protesters is as expected a part of the culture as the arrival of the new Beaujolais, trouble started early Monday. The torch was barely a block into its journey when the athlete who was holding it came upon scuffling protesters and climbed aboard a bus to wait out the melee.

So much chaos ensued that Chinese officials accompanying the torch snuffed out its flame numerous times and torchbearers were bundled onto buses midway through the 18-mile route.

The left-leaning mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, draped the ornate City Hall with a banner reading, “Paris Defends Human Rights Around the World.”

Meanwhile, pro-Tibetan banners were displayed all over the City of Light, and protesters dangled Tibetan flags and banners with the interlocking Olympic rings depicted as handcuffs from iconic Paris facades including Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, despite police efforts to stop them.

But unlike London, where 37 people were arrested Sunday during the torch’s relay, Paris police were able to keep disrupters far enough away that no one could snatch the torch from its bearer.

One activist was arrested just before he could grab the torch from former French hurdler Stephane Diagana as he began the relay by bounding down the steps of the Eiffel Tower. In all, 20 people were arrested in Paris on Monday, but all but one were released within a few hours.

Repeating a tactic used in London, Parisian police created a human wall to shield the 80 athletes taking turns carrying the torch. Nearly 3,000 police, some in riot gear, were deployed along the route -- in trucks, on foot, jogging, on in-line skates and in boats along the Seine.

“There are more policemen out today than I have seen for a visiting president or king,” said Paul Galan, 53 and unemployed. He said he spontaneously joined the fray near the Eiffel Tower after seeing dozens of people wearing “Free Tibet” headbands. He bought one and began shouting at the passing torchbearer and at a gaggle of Chinese students who were holding their country’s flag and singing.

“You can’t come to this country -- this of all countries that is known for liberty and equality -- and think that you can get us to support the Olympics in a country that doesn’t respect basic human rights,” Galan said.

Many Chinese French said they were disappointed by the melees and the canceling of parties and ceremonies. “They rained on our parade,” said Wan Li, a restaurant worker. “Literally, we lost our parade.”

In San Francisco, officials said they expected as many as 6,500 protesters Wednesday. Police would not discuss staffing levels, but a CHP spokesman said two details totaling more than 100 officers would be deployed for the torch relay.

One detail of CHP officers on motorcycles, in cars and on foot will help San Francisco police keep the torch moving along the route, and the other will secure the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, freeway offramps and onramps, and state buildings.

That tightened security was not yet in place Monday when activists began climbing suspension cables of the Golden Gate Bridge just after the morning rush hour. Tethered together, the two men and a woman scaled the cables about 10:30 a.m. to unfurl two banners. One said, “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 08.”

Seven protesters were arrested on the bridge, including four who aided the climb, CHP spokeswoman Mary Ziegenbein said. All will be charged with felony conspiracy and public nuisance, she said. The three climbers will face an additional charge of trespassing.

San Francisco officials said they hoped such tactics would not be repeated Wednesday. Rather than going down narrow streets as in Paris, they said, the relay route would mostly be on the Embarcadero, a wide boulevard where they hoped police would be able to keep protesters far away from the torchbearers.

“I’m all for any nonviolent, peaceable expression, and my fingers are crossed that people will express themselves appropriately,” said Aaron Peskin, president of the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors. “If that’s not the case, San Francisco has the resources and expertise to deal with things accordingly.”

Newsom met for more than an hour Monday with Chinese ambassador Zhou Wenzhong. Among the topics covered were flame attendants from China, whose presence angered many London protesters.

Mayoral spokesman Nathan Ballard said the attendants would also be on hand in San Francisco.

“But let me make it perfectly clear that San Francisco Police Chief [Heather] Fong is in control of the scene and will be calling the shots,” he said.

One torchbearer for the San Francisco relay said he wasn’t intimidated by all the discord at other relays.

“Quite the opposite,” said Eric Burke, a science teacher at Luther Burbank Middle School in Los Angeles. “It’s so exciting to see people out there expressing their opinion.”

His wife, Stefani Tovar, said she was worried -- but not about his security. Her fear was that activists would block her view of her husband’s big moment.

“I’m worried the protesters are going to hog up all the spaces,” she said.

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john.glionna@latimes.com

geraldine.baum@latimes.com

Glionna reported from San Francisco and Baum from Paris. Times staff writers Tim Reiterman in San Francisco and Evan Halper in Sacramento also contributed to this report.