Eiffel Tower evacuated; reports of bomb alert

Eiffel Tower and its immediate surroundings have been evacuated amid French news reports of a bomb alert.

Paris's Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero area of the city are seen in this file photo.

Alfredo Sosa/The Christian Science Monitor

September 14, 2010

Paris' Eiffel Tower and its immediate surroundings have been evacuated amid French news reports of a bomb alert.

An AP photographer on the site saw several busloads of police officers under the famous tower. An officer on the site says the tower and the nearby Champs de Mars park have been evacuated but has declined to give any other details. About 2,500 people were affected.

Tourists are still on the nearby sidewalks, however, and road traffic continues to circulate.

French media reported that Tuesday's evacuation followed a bomb alert. Further information was not immediately available. Paris police headquarters did not return numerous calls.