FIRST OFF . . .

The Amnesty International/Reebok Foundation “Human Rights Now!” activist rock show hit Paris on Sunday as Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman and others spurred 16,500 fans to the human-rights cause--and even won a bravo from Socialist President Francois Mitterrand. “I salute those who responded in number to the Amnesty International appeal and the artists from every country who mobilized for the human-rights cause,” Mitterrand said in a brief message read at the concert. Danielle Mitterrand, the president’s wife, was an enthusiastic audience member, while other French VIPs at the concert included Culture Minister Jack Lang and Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Bernard Kouchner. Also glimpsed in the crowd: Director Roman Polanski and French entertainer Jacques Higelen. Next on the “Human Rights Now!” itinerary is the Hungarian capital of Budapest, where the gathered rockers are scheduled to play tonight. There remains the possibility that the tour might include a stop in Moscow, providing the human-rights discussions do not single out the Soviet Bloc countries unfairly, an Amnesty International spokesman said Monday.