On the final day of the Olympics, Paris police arrested a man who attempted to climb the Eiffel Tower on Sunday afternoon, just hours before the closing ceremony. The man was spotted at approximately 14:45 local time (13:45 BST) ascending the iconic structure, prompting immediate action from authorities.
Social media videos captured the shirtless man scaling the tower just above the Olympic rings that had adorned it during the summer games. Another video shows him being escorted away by police, handcuffed, and commenting to a bystander, “Bloody warm, innit?”
The area around the Eiffel Tower was reportedly evacuated during the incident, though details of the man’s motivation and nationality remain unclear. The BBC has not independently confirmed the extent of the evacuations or whether they were still in place by 16:00.
The Eiffel Tower, a symbol of the Paris Olympics, was a key feature in the grand opening ceremony but was not planned to be part of the closing ceremony later that evening.
