VERSAILLES, France, March 6 (AFP) - A French magistrate has banned sales of a Chinese-made teddy bear after a six-month-old baby choked to death on fibres that fell off the toy.

An autopsy showed the presence in the baby's lungs of synthetic fibres from the toy, which was a Christmas gift from his grandmother.

Judicial sources said thousands of the teddy bears had been imported into France.

On Thursday the magistrate, holding the fatal toy in his hand, toured warehouses of the importers at Valmont, eastern France, and inspected a display of teddy bears and other toys.