French President Sent Emotional Letter to Disabled Torch Carrier Attacked during Paris Relay

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PARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent an emotional letter to a disabled Chinese woman who was attacked while carrying the Olympic torch in Paris, his office said Monday.

The letter to "Mademoiselle Jin Jing" hailed her courage and criticized the "inadmissible" attack on her by a pro-Tibet protester during the flame relay earlier this month.

"I want to tell you all my emotion over the way you were jostled in Paris on April 7 when you were carrying the Olympic flame," Sarkozy wrote in the letter, which was dated Saturday. The president of the French Senate gave the letter to Jin on Monday in Shanghai.

Sarkozy noted the "bitterness" in China over the attack, and insisted that several incidents by protesters during the Paris stopover "do not reflect the feelings of my countrymen toward the Chinese people."

Outrage over what is portrayed as foreign interference in Tibet fanned protests across China over the weekend - some directed at French supermarket chain Carrefour.

Sarkozy also is dispatching his top diplomatic envoy to Beijing this week, seen by some as a bid to limit the damage to France's reputation - and businesses - in China.

"I have the impression that the president and the government are trying to cling to the branches after the calamitous episode when the flame came through Paris," said opposition party legislator Andre Gerin.

"It's a way of restoring France's image when it comes to the respect that we owe China," added Gerin, who is also vice-president of the "Friendship China" group at the National Assembly.

Christian Poncelet, president of the French Senate, gave the letter to the Chinese torchbearer Monday as he arrived for a weeklong visit to China, the first of a string of high-level French visits to the country.

In the letter, Sarkozy said he would like Jin to return to Paris as his "personal guest" in the coming weeks "to try to erase this painful moment."

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"I think this is damaging to the Olympic movement. I think it is very sad. I get angry," said IOC vice-president Gunilla Lindberg. "Using the torch this way is almost a crime."

"I will be telling people that for every protester, there are a million Americans who support the Games and want them to be a success," DeFrantz said.

"This is a day about sports and about peace. Why are they making this about politics?" said a 25-year-old economics student who lives in Paris.

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Photos courtesy of ChinaRen.com

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