A member of the French Green party had to be tackled by police after attempting to grab the torch from the leader of the 80 torch bearers, former world 400 metres hurdles champion Stephane Diagana, who explained on French television: "Nothing's happening as it was meant to."
Security had to extinguish the flame at least three times and move it onto a bus, as police dealt with protesters along the route.
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe called off a ceremony to welcome the torch after Green party activists hung a Tibetan flag and a black banner depicting the Olympic rings as handcuffs from the Hotel de Ville.
Several hundred protesters have taken part in the demonstrations, near the Eiffel Tower and along the torch's route through Paris to a stadium in the south of the city.
