Eiffel Tower evacuated following terror threat

The Eiffel Tower has been evacuated after a man with a knife tried to breach security.

Although no-one was hurt in the incident it meant the entire 324 metre building being evacuated on Saturday evening. Luckily for tourists it opened as normal on Sunday.

The young Frenchman who is now under investigation had recently been discharged from a psychiatric hospital. 

The man tried to force his way into a securty zone under the cultural icon, held out a knife and said “Allahu akbar”, the Arabic phrase for “God is great”, an official close to the investigation said.

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Soldiers, who are permanently stationed at the Eiffel Tower, ordered him to drop his weapon, which he did without attacking anyone, reports ABC News.

The suspect later told police that he had wanted to attack a soldier and had been in touch with a member of the Islamic State group who encouraged him to do so.

No shots were fired, but the circumstances around the attempt has meant the seriousness of the offence has been upgraded from common crime to counter-terrorism.

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There have been a number of attempted attacks on security forces guarding prominent sites in France, amid heightened protection measures since 2015.

This year alone there has been a car ramming with explosives found in the car, a stabbing near the Louve, a letter bomb and shootings.