Eiffel Tower evacuated after man climbs the Paris landmark

Paris, May 20: A man climbing the Eiffel Tower on Monday prompted a shutdown and evacuation of the famed French landmark as a safety precaution.

"A climber has been spotted. It's the standard procedure: We have to stop the person, and in that case we evacuate the tower," an official told AFP, adding that police were on the scene.

Built for the 1889 World's Fair, the tower - which soars to 324 metres in height and weighs 7,300 tonnes - still attracts nearly seven million visitors every year.

Despite calls for its demolition in the years after the exhibition, it soon became the most iconic feature on the Paris skyline and is France's most visited monument.

The tower was the tallest structure in the world for 41 years until the construction of the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930.

A section of stairs from the tower sold for almost 170,000 euros last year.