A MAN was arrested in Paris today after jumping off the Eiffel Tower with a parachute, police and the monument’s operator said.

The man, an experienced climber, entered the tower’s perimeter shortly after 5am, well before its official opening.

Guards quickly detected him, according to the site’s operator Sete, but he still managed to get to the top before anybody could stop him, carrying the parachute in a backpack.

Once he got near the top of the 330m-high structure, he jumped.

The man landed in a nearby stadium where he was arrested for endangering the lives of others, police said.

“This kind of irresponsible action puts people working at or below the tower in danger,” Sete said in a statement.

The Eiffel Tower is the French capital’s top tourist spot, attracting 5.9 million visitors in 2022.

The tower’s opening, usually at 9am, was slightly delayed due to the incident, Sete said, adding that it had filed criminal charges against the man.

Last week, the Eiffel Tower was evacuated twice on the same day following hoax bomb alerts.

And on Monday, two inebriated American tourists were found sleeping off a heavy night in the heights of the tower, having dodged security the night before. – AFP, August 17, 2023.