Man climbing Eiffel Tower prompts evacuation
PARIS — French police arrested a man who was seen climbing the Eiffel Tower hours before the Olympics closing ceremony Sunday.
The area around the Eiffel Tower was evacuated Sunday afternoon after the man was seen scaling the 330-meter (1,083-foot) Paris landmark at around 2:45 p.m. local time, according to police.
A spokesman told Reuters that police intercepted and arrested the man about halfway up the tower.
Videos posted on social media showed the shirtless man skirting the Olympic rings as he made his way up the tower without ropes.
In one video, the climber can be heard saying to bystanders, “bloody warm, innit?” as he is escorted off the viewing platform by police.
The tower operator did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s unclear where the man began his ascent, but he was spotted just above the Olympic rings adorning the second section of the monument, just above the first viewing deck.
Police escorted visitors away from the area around 3 p.m. Some visitors who were briefly locked on the second floor were allowed to exit around 30 minutes later.
The Eiffel Tower was a centerpiece of the opening ceremony, with Celine Dion serenading the city from one of its viewing areas. The Tower is not expected to be part of the closing ceremony, which was set to begin at Stade de France in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis at 9 p.m.
The incident occurred as the Olympic competition winds down and security services in Paris and beyond are shifting their focus to the closing ceremony that will bring the curtain down on the Games.
More than 30,000 police officers have been deployed around Paris on Sunday.
France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said about 3,000 police officers will be mobilized around the Stade de France, and 20,000 police troops and other security personnel in Paris and the Saint-Denis area will be mobilized late into Sunday night to ensure safety on the last day of the Olympics.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
