Two American tourists were found sleeping off a binge in the upper levels of the Eiffel Tower in Paris after dodging security the night before, it was revealed on Tuesday.
Security guards roused the men in the early morning as they were making their rounds before the French landmark's 9am opening time, Eiffel Tower operator Sete said on Tuesday.
"They appear to have got stuck because of how drunk they were," Paris prosecutors told the French news agency AFP.
The two Americans had spent their night under the stars in a spot normally closed to the public between the tower's second and third levels, but did not pose any apparent threat, said Sete.
After paying for an entry ticket around 10.40pm on Sunday just before the attraction closed, the pair hopped security barriers while climbing down the stairs from the tower's top, a police source said.
Firefighters, including a specialist unit for recovering people from dangerous heights, were sent to recover the interlopers, the police source added.
Both men were taken to the police station in Paris' seventh district for questioning. Sete said it would file a criminal complaint.
Bomb threats
The discovery delayed the tower's opening to the public on Monday morning for around an hour.
On Saturday, two bomb threats forced the evacuation of the tower.
A further email with a bomb threat against the 330-metre steel tower was sent to three Paris police stations on Monday, but police advised against evacuation.
(with AFP)
