The President of the French Senate today visited a disabled Chinese torchbearer who was attacked by a Tibet separatist during the Paris leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay early this month.

Christian Poncelet, the Senate President, visited Jin Jing at Shanghai Disabled People's Sport Training Center after he arrived in Shanghai this morning, Xinhua news agency reported today.

Poncelet is paying a visit to China from April 21 to 27, at the invitation of top legislator Wu Bangguo.

Poncelet also handed a letter written by French President Sarkozy to express his sympathy to the 27-year-old wheelchair-bound fencer who was attacked by the Tibet separatist during her leg in the much-disrupted torch relay in the French capital on April 7, the report said.

The man rushed to Jin, tried to snatch away the torch and scratched the Shanghai native's jaw.

Jin shielded the flame with her body despite repeated physical attacks by the man.

The relentless attack and some French media's biased reports about China and the Beijing Olympics spurred outrage among Chinese Internet users who have called for boycotts of French-made products and Carrefour, France's biggest retailer.