A security alert on Saturday prompted the evacuation of three floors of the Eiffel Tower, France's most emblematic symbol, which drew 6.2 million visitors last year.
SETE, the body which runs the site, said bomb disposal experts as well as police were scouring the area, including a restaurant located on one of the floors of the monument in central Paris.
“It’s a usual procedure in this kind of situation which, however, is rare,” a spokesperson said.
As the place is a favourite tourist destination and as many visitors are expected, the area was evacuated a “precautionary measure”, according to the spokesperson.
A large security perimeter was quickly established and traffic was diverted, according to a French police official. Three floors of the monument, including the restaurant of the tower, as well as the forecourt, were evacuated, said the spokesperson.
The alert was lifted after 2 hours and the Iron Lady reopened to the public. “It was a false alarm. People can go back inside,” the official said.
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, a French daily newspaper.
Construction work on the tower began in January 1887 and was finished on March 31, 1889. It received two million visitors during the World's Fair of 1889.
