He has not been found. This story says that it could have been a parachutist, but with both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State having targeted the Eiffel Tower (see here and here), French authorities opted to risk appearing “Islamophobic” by closing the tower to visitors.
“BREAKING NEWS: Eiffel Tower is closed to visitors after terror suspect ‘with large rucksack’ is seen ascending France’s most famous attraction,” by Peter Allen, MailOnline, September 20, 2015:
The Eiffel Tower was shut to all visitors today after a terrorist suspect with ‘a large rucksack’ was seen ascending France’s most popular tourist attraction.
Anti-terrorist police supported by a helicopter could be seen at the iconic landmark following the alarm being raised at around 9am.
‘There’s been a report of a man with a rucksack,’ said a police source assisting with the evacuation of the tower.
The unidentified man was seen in the tower at least an hour before it opened, said another police source. By early afternoon, he had still not been found.
Hundreds of people were already waiting to go up, but were told to vacate the area, as ticket booths were shut.
The tower has frequently been threatened by terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda and ISIS, with security stepped up since attacks by three radical Islamist gunmen in the city in January.
A police cordon was formed around the tower and people were moved to the banks of the nearby River Seine.
There have been numerous bomb alerts at the Eiffel Tower in recent years, and France is currently on the highest state vigilance alert.
But as today’s hunt for the man continued, police did not rule out the possibility that he might be an extreme parachutist hoping to jump off the structure.
‘It’s happened in the past,’ said the same police source. ‘The parachutist hides his kit the night before, and then gets into the tower and jumps off, while videoing.’…