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Eiffel Tower, park briefly evacuated over bomb threat

The Eiffel Tower area was briefly evacuated on Tuesday because of a bomb alert, the fourth in the Paris region in as many weeks, but a search turned up nothing, police said.
Image: Police stand guard an a bridge across from the Eiffel Tower in Paris after the French tourism landmark and the surrounding park was evacuated following a bomb alert
Paris police stand guard on a bridge across from the Eiffel Tower after the area was evacuated for the second time in two weeks following a bomb alert.JACKY NAEGELEN / Reuters
/ Source: msnbc.com news services

The Eiffel Tower and the surrounding Champs de Mars park were briefly evacuated on Tuesday because of a bomb alert, the fourth in the Paris region in as many weeks, but a search turned up nothing, police said.

The decision to evacuate came after the fire service received a call from a public telephone saying there was a suspect package at the tower, a police spokeswoman said earlier.

It was also the second evacuation of the Eiffel Tower and Champs de Mars due to a bomb alert — which also failed to turn up any explosives — in two weeks.

French security officials said last week the country was on heightened alert after receiving a tip-off of a planned suicide attack on the Paris metro.

Last week, France's national police chief said the country was facing a "peak" terror threat, and that authorities suspect al-Qaida's North African affiliate of plotting a conventional bomb attack on a crowded target.

The French Senate earlier this month voted to ban burqa-style Islamic veils in France, a subject that has prompted warnings by al-Qaida.

Counterterrorism officials in France say the ban is just one of several factors that have made France a target of the group.

Another was France's military logistical support for a July raid by Mauritanian forces against the group that left six of its militants dead.