Police stop man with knife defying security at Eiffel Tower
No injuries in late-night incident, French attraction briefly evacuated after guards overpower intruder
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PARIS — Paris police have arrested a man brandishing a knife who tried to breach security at the Eiffel Tower, and the monument was briefly evacuated.
The company that manages the tower said in a statement Sunday that no one was hurt in the incident, which occurred soon before closing time Saturday night. The tower reopened as usual Sunday morning.
The incident happened at 11:30 p.m. (2130 GMT) Saturday night, about half an hour before the Tower normally stops admitting visitors.
After the arrest, police checked the venue and called for it to be evacuated at around 12:30 a.m., 15 minutes before the Eiffel Tower normally closes, the statement added.
The would-be intruder was wearing a Paris Saint-Germain football shirt and at the time of the incident the tower was lit up with the team colours of PSG.
A screen near the bottom of the tower displayed a message welcoming Brazilian star Neymar to the club.
Paris police said the man tried to force his way past security forces to go beneath the tower, but was quickly subdued. His identity wasn’t released, and his motives are unclear. An investigation is underway.
Monuments in the French capital are occasionally evacuated for security reasons, as the country remains on alert after deadly terror attacks since 2015.
France has been under a state of emergency since November 2015 attacks on Paris restaurants, a concert venue and a sporty stadium that left 130 people dead.
Since the first wave of terror attacks in January 2015, 239 people have been killed.
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