The Eiffel Tower was evacuated with just hours to go until the Olympics’ closing ceremony after a man was spotted climbing the 330-metre-tall landmark.
Footage emerged on social media on Sunday afternoon of an apparently shirtless man wearing black shorts scaling the north-facing side of the 19th-Century tower, just next to its Olympic Rings display.
Entry beneath the Eiffel Tower was understood to have been closed, while tourists enjoying the Paris icon were escorted down and out for their own safety.
In social media videos of the climber, he can be seen ascending the tower between its lowest and middle viewing decks, and later footage appeared to show the shirtless man having made it to a point between the middle and upper decks.
A man was seen scaling the tower between its lower and middle decks
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The apparently shirtless climber was spotted climbing above the Olympic Rings
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It is not yet clear whether he began the climb from ground-level, or from higher up inside.
More images from the ground beneath the landmark show entry gates – which, on a sunny summer Sunday at the culmination of the Olympic Games, would have been packed – empty, save for a few guards.
French police, kitted out with ropes, helmets and climbing gear, were seen assembling underneath the Eiffel Tower.
This preceded one video in which the grinning climber can be heard saying to bystanders “bloody warm, innit?” as he is escorted off the viewing platform by officers.
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The man was later seen at a higher point on the iconic structure
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The climber was arrested and handcuffed by police before he was led away
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A French police spokesperson said: “At 2.45 pm (1.45pm UK time), an individual was seen climbing the Eiffel Tower.
“The police immediately intervened and arrested the individual.”
The tower operator did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Security forces have been on high alert throughout the Games, not least after their opening day when a “far-left or Russian” arson attack“ on France’s rail networks paralysed travel across the country.
Armed police were seen lining the streets of the French capital
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Armed police were seen lining the streets of the French capital before the event’s much-anticipated closing ceremony, slated to begin at 8pm UK time on Sunday evening.
Though the Games themselves – questions over swimming in the River Seine and gender rows in certain sports aside – have remained largely crisis-free.
Organisers in Paris’s successor Olympic host city, Los Angeles, have praised their forerunners.
Los Angeles 2028 CEO Casey Wasserman called the Paris Games experience “world class”, adding that officials “have done a spectacular job” in pulling them off.