Beijing Olympic flame arrives in Paris

　　(PARIS, April 6) -- The Beijing Olympic flame arrived in Paris on Sunday at 9:40 p.m. GMT to start the fifth leg of a relay around the world.

　　The flame was contained in a specially designed lantern and transported from England to France aboard the Olympic Torch Relay chartered plane.

　　Officials of the French Olympic Committee and the Chinese ambassador to France, Kong Quan, met the Torch Relay delegation at Charles De Gaulle airport.

　　As head of the delegation, Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, showed the flame to the welcoming crowds as he disembarked.

　　Paris is the birthplace of Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement. The Paris leg of the relay, which takes place April 7, will cover 27 kilometers and will be completed by 80 torchbearers. Starting from the Eiffel Tower, the torch will pass such landmarks as the Arch of Triumph, Champs-Elysees Avenue, Concorde Square, the Louvre Museum and Notre Dame.