"Just seems a remarkable coincidence to me that a clear cut in the tyre matched the shape of the metal strip which fell off the CO jet."
Before you continue with your dumb conclusions, why don't you go and do a bit of background reading. You'll then be armed with all the facts so blatantly ignored by our French Cousins.
The fire started no where near the titanium strip. It's not disputed that the tyre ran over it (eventually), but what is clear is that the aircaft should have been in the air long before it ever reached it. Why it wasn't is well understood by most (non-BEA) and has already been alluded to above.