Eiffel Tower evacuated after bomb threat

PARIS - Agence France-Presse

French police stand guard near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on March 30, 2013. The Eiffel Tower was evacuated in the evening on March 30 after an anonymous phone call announced an attack, said a police source. The perimeter of the monument was secured and about 1,400 people were evacuated shortly before 21h00. AFP PHOTO/THOMAS COEX

Around 1,400 visitors to the Eiffel Tower were rushed out of the world-famous monument after an anonymous phone call threatening an attack on Saturday night, police said.

The tower was reopened after around two and a half hours after police searches failed to find any suspicious objects.

The call came from the Paris suburbs and threatened an attack at 9:30 pm (2030 GMT), police said. Police anti-terrorism officers were investigating.

Bomb alerts targeting monuments and public places happen frequently in Paris, but all alerts are "treated very seriously," police said.

Security has been stepped up across France amid concerns about threats to the country over its military campaign against Islamists in its former colony Mali.