A man was arrested for climbing the Eiffel Tower on Sunday, hours before the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, Paris police told the BBC.
The man was spotted climbing the tower at around 2:45pm local time (1:45pm BST) and officers immediately intervened and arrested him, police said. No further details were immediately available on the man’s motives or nationality.
Videos on social networks shows a shirtless man climbing the tower just above the Olympic rings that adorned it during the Summer Games.
In another video, the man is escorted by the police, his hands cuffed behind his back, and said to a passerby: “It’s hot, huh?”
The Associated Press reported that French police evacuated the area around the Eiffel Tower during the incident, while CNN also reported that the tower was evacuated, citing police.
The BBC was unable to independently verify whether any evacuations had taken place or whether they were still underway as of 4pm.
The Eiffel Tower was the centrepiece of the grand finale of the Olympic opening ceremony but is not expected to feature in the closing ceremony later Sunday.
