2023-08-12 15:14:23
The Eiffel Tower seen from the Champ-de-Mars, in Paris, on August 9, 2023. MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP
The three floors of the Eiffel Tower were evacuated on Saturday August 12 for nearly two hours, as police deminers went to the scene following a bomb threat, Agence France-Presse learned ( AFP) from the Eiffel Tower Operating Company (SETE) and from a police source.
“The police are on the spot, the demining is on the spot”said a SETE spokesperson at midday, confirming information from BFM-TV. “It’s a usual procedure in this kind of situation, which is rare nevertheless”she pointed out.
The evacuation concerned the three floors of the monument, including the restaurant of the tower, as well as the forecourt, added this spokesperson. A wide security perimeter was quickly established, traffic diverted and the monument evacuated at 12:15 p.m. The alert was lifted around 3:30 p.m. and the “iron lady” reopened to the public, specified SETE and police sources.
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. At the time, “a man had called, shouted “Allah akbar!” and said he was going to ‘blow everything up’ at the Eiffel Tower”the police source announced in 2020.
In 2022, the most emblematic monument in Paris welcomed more than 5.8 million visitors.
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