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Man arrested after climbing tallest building in Paris

A man was arrested on Friday after climbing up the facade of the Tour Montparnasse, the tallest building in Paris. a police source said.

Published: 19 September 2020 09:10 CEST
Man arrested after climbing tallest building in Paris
The man raises a free hand in the middle of his climb. Photo: Francois Maligorne/AFP
The unnamed climber, who used no harnesses or other aids, was detained after he got to the top of the 210-metre (690 feet) office block, the source said.
   
He began the ascent in the early evening and was arrested at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) after a rescue worker descended on a rope and accompanied him to the roof of the tower.
 
READ ALSO: 
It wasn't the first time a climber had taken on the Tour Montparnasse. In 2015 the French “Spiderman” Alain Robert completed the daring feat with a Nepalese flag in hand, in tribute to the victims of a devastating earthquake in the country.
   
The Tour Montparnasse is not as high as the famous Eiffel Tower but remains the only skyscraper in the Paris city centre.
 
 
The security services' DOPC intervention and protection group (Gip) abseiled down to reach the man.
Francois MALIGORNE / AFP

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TOUR

Queues on Øresund Bridge as Danes return from long weekend

Danes returning from a long weekend in Bornholm and holiday cottages in Skåne caused a 2km queue on Tuesday morning, adding to Swedes' irritation at being cut out a Nordic tourism deal.

Published: 2 June 2020 10:37 CEST
Queues on Øresund Bridge as Danes return from long weekend
There was a 6km queue after Pentecost on May 24. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT/Scanpix
Copenhagen police reported the queue in a tweet at around 8am on Tuesday.  
 
The temporary border checks on the small artificial island of Peberholm (Pepparholm in Swedish), where the bridge over from Sweden turns into a tunnel, makes it much slower to get across the Öresund, meaning queues build up quickly whenever there is heavy traffic. 
 
“The police are in place and are trying to get people through the checks as quickly as possible,” security officer Thomas Hjermind told Ritzau at 9am. “The queue is 2km long. But the traffic is moving.”
 
The long weekend around Whit Sunday and Whit Monday in Denmark has meant that many have travelled into Sweden — some to get the ferry across to Bornholm, others to stay in summer cottages in Skåne and elsewhere. 
 
Police told Ritzau that the queue was mainly formed of Danes on their way back from holiday in Sweden, together with a few Swedish cross-border workers. 
 
READ ALSO:  
 
Since Denmark imposed border controls on March 14, Danes have been able to travel to Sweden unhindered while Swedes have only been allowed into Denmark if they have a “worthy purpose”. 
 
 
Danes are supposed to go into quarantine for 14 days on their return, but this is voluntary and it seems that few do. 
 
Last Friday, Denmark's government announced that it was ready to allow tourists from Norway, Germany and Iceland into the country, but not those from Sweden.
 
“It seems absolutely crazy. Total double standards,” Christer Mårtensson, 61, from Hjärup in Skåne told Denmark's BT tabloid. 
 
“If the authorities are so afraid of the Swedes being infected don't they think that the Danes can take the infection back with them?” he added. 
 
“It doesn't make sense. It's pure populism, and it seems as if Mette Frederiksen is just trying to improve her popularity on at home.” 
 
While Sweden as a whole has higher infection rates than Denmark, Region Skåne has a lower rate
than in Copenhagen area. 
 
According to Sweden's Kvällsposten newspaper, there have been 17.8 coronavirus-related deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in Copenhagen, and just 13.3 in Skåne. 
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