Delanoe, president of the Paris bid, said London had not respected the rule of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stating that meetings between bid officials and IOC members should be only informal.

"The IOC knows that (Prime Minister) Tony Blair had written to IOC members to offer to meet them," Delanoe told reporters.

Delanoe said that Blair had then met IOC members in his hotel suite in Singapore before Wednesday's vote, in which London scored a narrow victory over Paris.

"Everybody was aware of it and could see it," Delanoe said.

"That's against the rules. I saw people coming out of Blair's suite."

French politicians, media and sports officials cried foul after London snatched the vote, suggesting underhand tactics may have played a part in London's victory in the final vote by 54 votes to 50.

But Prince Albert of Monaco, an IOC member, dismissed the suggestions of foul play.

"It's true it was very close, decided by a few votes, and perhaps it was decided at the last minute. But I don't think there was any irregularity," Albert told France's TF1 television in an interview on Monday evening.

Asked about Delanoe's comments, Albert said: "The president of the IOC himself said there was no particular problem and did not have to take disciplinary action against the London bid chiefs, and I think he was right."

STADIUM CRITICISM

Delanoe suggested on Monday that London had also breached the IOC rules by making comments on a rival bid.

"It is stated that a bid should not make comments on another one," he said. "Out of the five bidding cities, which one did not respect that?"

The Paris mayor was apparently referring to comments before the vote by a member of the London team who said the Stade de France in Paris was not built specifically for athletics.

"I don't want to make a big fuss but there's no reason why I should remain silent," Delanoe said.

"There were certainly weaknesses in our bid but I don't think any of those weaknesses played any role in the final decision.

"There are things we maybe could have done differently but I don't think it would have changed the result."

Delanoe denied having accused London of bribery.

"All I said was that if Paris had used bribery to win the vote, we would have been reproached for it," he said.

Asked if Paris had been naive by refraining from active lobbying in the final straight, Delanoe said: "We decided to strictly abide by the rules and we don't regret that choice."

Delanoe suggested that the IOC rules left room for interpretation by saying: "The IOC is a subtle organisation."

The Paris mayor said the day of the vote had not been a totally negative experience.

"As we couldn't get that victory we so badly wanted, I decided to make that day a personal victory," he said.

"I stopped smoking."