Police arrest knife-wielding man yelling ‘Allahu Akbar’ in Paris St-Germain shirt at Eiffel Tower as monument is evacuated
The man is said to be aged around 19, has a history of psychological problems
Soldiers permanently based at the Eiffel Tower ordered him to drop the weapon
The man wearing a Paris St Germain (PSG) football shirt did not harm anyone
Monument was lit up to celebrate PSG’s record signing of footballer Neymar
By JAY AKBAR
DAILYMAIL.COM
6 August 2017
Police arrested a knife-wielding man wearing a Paris Saint-Germain football shirt after he tried to breach security at the Eiffel Tower last night.
The man, who is aged around 19 and has a history of psychological problems, forced his way past security guards and then shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’, a legal source said.
Soldiers who are permanently stationed at the Eiffel Tower ordered him to drop his weapon, which he did without attacking anyone, the source added.
The monument, which was lit up to celebrate Paris St Germain football team signing Brazilian footballer Neymar, was evacuated at around 12.30am.
The man, who was apparently alone, was ‘very quickly overpowered and arrested’ and nobody was hurt, a statement from the company that runs the monument said.
After the arrest, police at the site checked the venue and called for it to be evacuated 15 minutes before the Eiffel Tower normally closes, the statement added.
At the time of the incident the tower was lit up with the colours of the team to welcome the club’s new world-record signing, Brazilian star Neymar.
France has been under a state of emergency since the November 2015 attacks on Paris restaurants, a concert venue and a sports stadium that left 130 people dead.
Since the first wave of terror attacks in January 2015, 239 people have been killed.
The legal source said the man with the knife, a Frenchman born in the West African state of Mauritania, had been discharged from a psychiatric hospital in July.
The tower reopened on Sunday morning as usual at 9am today.
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