Officials said the opening of the Eiffel Tower was delayed Monday morning after security officials found two American tourists sleeping at the monument overnight.
“They were discovered early in the morning by the Sete security service, during the daily inspection rounds that were made before the monument was opened to the public,” according to the operator of the Eiffel Tower, the Sociéte d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, also known as Sete. The operator said she would file a complaint about the two intruders, who posed no threat and had been turned over to the police.
The Paris prosecutor’s office was informed Monday morning that two American men were found asleep at the site of the Eiffel Tower after entering with tickets Sunday night, according to a spokeswoman for the office, who said alcohol was involved. She didn’t know where to spot the men in the Eiffel Tower.
One of the most recognizable landmarks in the world, the Eiffel Tower was built from 1887 to 1889 to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution and stands 1,083 feet tall. receive about Seven million visitors annually.
American tourists are flocking to Europe this summer. The number of planned flights to Paris in July and August is up 14.4 percent this year and is now nearly 5 percent higher than the level in 2019, before the pandemic.