Parachuting off Eiffel Tower? Two men arrested for performing stunt at French monument

In a surprising and daring incident, two men were arrested by French law enforcement for parachuting off the iconic Eiffel Tower on Thursday (Jul 10), AFP reported, citing a police source. The pair was spotted by security staff when they were scaling the 330-metre Paris monument before dawn. The source added that they were wearing balaclavas and carrying parachutes.

The security staff called the police and the civil defence to the scene. The authorities arrived on the scene and tried to make contact with the climbers, who signalled that they wanted to jump from the monument.

Around 6 am local time, the two men leapt off the tower in a daring stunt. They were arrested by the police upon landing. A third person was also detained by the police near the monument, although he did not take part in the act.

This is not the first time someone has tried parachuting off the Eiffel Tower. In August 2023, a man was arrested for jumping off France’s tallest skyscraper. The man, an experienced climber, managed to sneak into the tower’s premises shortly after 5 am, before its opening, and climbed to the top carrying a parachute in a backpack. He jumped from the monument and landed in a nearby stadium, where he was arrested by the authorities for endangering the lives of others.

The Eiffel Tower is the most popular tourist spot in the French capital. Completed in 1889 for the Paris Universal Exhibition, it is owned by the city of Paris. Attracting about seven million people every year, it is one of the most visited monuments in the world, with three-quarters of the visitors coming from abroad.

Earlier this month, the authorities of Paris closed the top of the Eiffel Tower due to extreme heat conditions in the city as parts of Europe were gripped by a heatwave. On July 14th, the monument will be prepared for the fireworks for the Bastille Day celebrations.