By Stephen Fidler in London

More Europeans do not want their leaders to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games than do, with the strongest opposition coming from France and Germany, according to an opinion poll carried out for the Financial Times.

The Financial Times/Harris poll shows that 54 per cent of French people and 55 per cent of Germans oppose their leaders going to the opening on August. 8. Support for attendance in both countries runs at a little less than 30 per cent.

Opposition is strong in Italy, where 48 per cent oppose attendance and 32 per cent support it, and in Britain, where 43 per cent oppose and 25 per cent favour Gordon Brown’s presence. The view is more balanced in Spain, where 39 per cent oppose and 35 per cent favour José Luis Zapatero going. In Japan, 45 per cent oppose the attendance of Yasuo Fukuda, the prime minister, 10 percentage points more than favour it.

The opinions appear correlated with knowledge about recent protests against China’s rule over Tibet.

In France, 84 per cent of people said they had heard a lot about the protests, while 16 per cent had heard a little. In Germany, 51 per cent had heard a lot and 44 per cent a little. In China, 46 per cent of people had heard a lot about the protests and 50 per cent a little.

According to the poll, a majority of Europeans believes Tibet should not be under Chinese rule, ranging from 53 per cent in Britain to about three-quarters in Germany and Italy. Sixty-nine per cent of Japanese thought Tibet should not be governed by China.

A majority of Europeans also believes that human rights should be a central feature of foreign policy. But support in Britain (53 per cent) is weaker than in other European countries polled. In France, Italy and Germany, 80 per cent or more of people support the notion and 77 per cent do in Spain.

Backing for that idea is also weaker in Japan, where 56 per cent see human rights as a central plank of foreign policy and in China, where 45 per cent take that view.

The poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive among more than 1,000 adults in each country. Harris does not estimate the poll’s margin of error, arguing that to do so would be misleading.

Oscar Pistorius, the South African who runs on prosthetic blades, will be eligible to compete at the Olympics after winning an appeal against a ban on his running against able-bodied athletes.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a ruling in January by the International Association of Athletics Federation which concluded the double amputee had an unfair advantage.