Paris, France -- A bomb threat that led authorities to use sniffer dogs to inspect the Eiffel Tower and surrounding areas Tuesday turned out to have been a hoax, CNN affiliate BFM-TV reported, citing police.
The police press office said the telephone threat was reported at 8:20 p.m. and was treated as a routine occurrence; the tower was inspected to determine whether the threat was real.
A telephoned bomb threat also led authorities to briefly evacuate the St. Michel metro station, police said, according to BFM-TV. It was reopened within 30 minutes.
Some 2,000 people had been in the area of the Eiffel Tower and the park in which it sits when the evacuation was ordered, police said, according to BFM-TV. Briefly evacuated were a number a nearby apartment buildings and businesses, according to news reports.
"One person on the scene said the police came by and said there was a problem and they had to leave the area quickly, and that's what they did," CNN's Jim Bittermann reported.
A taxi driver said he drove to the tower two tourists who were planning to eat at the Jules Verne Restaurant, where they had made reservations two months ago, but they were turned back by police.
CNN
