Eiffel Tower evacuated after bomb alert

The Eiffel Tower and the surrounding Champ de Mars park were evacuated on Tuesday for the second time in two weeks after a bomb alert.

A police spokeswoman said the fire service had received a call from a public telephone saying there was a suspect package at the tower. A Reuters cameraman at the scene said the police had cordoned off an area about 200 metres from the tower.

The bomb alert was the fourth in as many weeks. French security officials said last week the country was on heightened alert after receiving a tip-off of a planned suicide attack on the Paris Metro.

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said on September 20 that France faced a real terrorism threat as it faces a backlash from al Qaeda militants in North Africa and fears grow of an attack from home-grown cells within its borders.