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A man who survived jumping off the 1,083-foot-tall Eiffel Tower with a parachute now faces criminal charges, local reports say

Aug 18, 2023, 18:19 IST
Insider
Cars drive past the Eiffel Tower in Paris on August 16, 2023.MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images
  • A man was arrested on Thursday for jumping off the Eiffel Tower with a parachute.
  • According to local reports, the daredevil landed in a nearby stadium, where he was met by police.
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A man who managed to evade guards on his quest to jump off the Eiffel Tower with a parachute was arrested by French police and is now facing the consequences of his daring antics.

On Thursday, an individual carrying a backpack was spotted ascending the 1,083-foot-tall tourist attraction at around 5 a.m. in France, local media outlets like France 24 and BFMTV reported. SETE, the company that manages the Eiffel Tower, said the trespasser was detected in "less than a minute" by guards. However, they were unable to stop him from climbing to the top of the 134-year-old structure via the east pillar.

After reaching the top, the man jumped off and released a parachute. He landed in a nearby stadium where he was met by police and promptly arrested. According to the reports, SETE has since filed criminal charges against the parachuting daredevil, whose actions they said could've put others' lives at risk.

"This kind of irresponsible action puts people working at or below the tower in danger," SETE's statement read, according to France24.

SETE did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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Johan Vervoort jumping with a parachute from near the top of the Eiffel Tower on May 17, 2006.ARNE'T JOLLE/AFP via Getty Images

The danger posed by the incident was likely minimized by the time at which the jump took place, in the early hours of the morning.

On a typical day, the Eiffel Tower opens up to the public at 9 a.m. and regularly attracts thousands of visitors. According to the official website, over 7 million people visit the Eiffel Tower a year, of which 75% are foreign tourists.

The last time someone dared parachute off the Eiffel Tower was in 2006 when Johan Vervoort, a Belgian base jumper, pulled a similar stunt in an effort to promote a comedy show, France24 reported.

It's also not the first time the Eiffel Tower has made headlines for people breaking visitor rules this summer. Just last week, two American tourists were caught sleeping inside the Eiffel Tower after opening hours.

Paris prosecutors later told AFP the pair appeared "to have got stuck because of how drunk they were," CBS News reports.

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The daredevil base jumper and the drunk tourists are just a handful of the latest examples of people misbehaving this summer.

Over the past few months, on two separate occasions, two tourists were seen defacing the Colosseum in Rome. Another visitor to the city was recently filmed climbing the Trevi Fountain to fill up her water bottle.

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