Police arrest man climbing Eiffel Tower, prompting evacuation hours before closing ceremony

PARIS -- French constabulary evacuated the country astir the Eiffel Tower aft a antheral was seen climbing the Paris landmark hours earlier the Olympics closing ceremonial Sunday.

The shirtless antheral was seen scaling the 330-meter (1,083-foot) gangly operation successful the afternoon. It's unclear wherever helium began his ascent, but helium was spotted conscionable supra the Olympic rings adorning the 2nd conception of the monument, conscionable supra the archetypal viewing deck.

Police escorted visitors distant from the country astir 3 p.m. Some visitors who were concisely locked connected the 2nd level were allowed to exit astir 30 minutes later.

"An idiosyncratic started climbing the Eiffel Tower astatine 2:45 p.m., constabulary intervened and the idiosyncratic was detained," a Paris constabulary authoritative told The Associated Press connected information of anonymity due to the fact that of an ongoing probe into the incident.

The Eiffel Tower was a centerpiece of the opening ceremony, with Celine Dion serenading the metropolis from 1 of its viewing areas. The Tower is not expected to beryllium portion of the closing ceremony, which was acceptable to statesman astatine Stade de France successful the bluish suburb of Saint-Denis astatine 9 p.m.

The incidental occurred arsenic the Olympic contention winds down and information services successful Paris and beyond are shifting their absorption to the closing ceremonial that volition bring the curtain down connected the Games.

More than 30,000 constabulary officers person been deployed astir Paris connected Sunday. France's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said astir 3,000 constabulary officers volition beryllium mobilized astir the Stade de France, and 20,000 constabulary troops and different information unit successful Paris and the Saint-Denis country volition beryllium mobilized precocious into Sunday nighttime to guarantee information connected the past time of the Olympics.

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Angela Charlton successful Paris contributed.