Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower in Paris evacuated following bomb alert: Reports

PARIS: The areas around the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower in central Paris were evacuated on Tuesday following a bomb alert and discovery of a bag of bullets, police told Reuters. Subway lines in the area Arc de Triomphe area were also being evacuated.

Police said that the Paris Champ de Mars park around the Eiffel Tower had been evacuated briefly following the discovery of a bag filled with ammunition. Two French local news sites showed pictures of a blue bag with different kinds of ammunition.

France is on high alert following the beheading of a teacher earlier this month by an 18-year old Muslim man angry about the use of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a civics lesson. There have been several false bomb alerts, most recently in the Lyon railway station last week and at the Eiffel Tower a month ago.