France: Eiffel Tower in Paris evacuated after bomb alert

France's most recognisable landmark, Eiffel Tower was evacuated for a while after a bomb alert, a police source told Le Parisien on Saturday. Le Parisien is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news and local news of Paris and its suburbs.

As this place is the favourite tourist destination and also this week is the long weekend so many visitors are expected and for their safety, this evacuation was a "precautionary measure", the source said.

The alert was lifted after 2 hours and the Iron Lady reopened to the public.

This early afternoon, the police deminers were on site to carry out the checks. “It is a usual procedure in this kind of situation, which is rare nevertheless”, indicated the Company of exploitation of the monument (Sete).

Quickly, a large security perimeter had been established, traffic diverted and the monument was evacuated at 12:15 pm, as per Le Parisien. 

The forecourt and the Eiffel Tower, concerning the three floors of the monument, including the restaurant of the tower, as well as the forecourt, were evacuated, added the spokesperson. 

The last bomb threat that prompted an evacuation of the tower, also for two hours, was in September 2020, based on an anonymous call to police, reported Le Parisien.