Teenage knifeman held at Eiffel Tower

A young man is being held by police in Paris after attempting to force his way into the Eiffel Tower while armed with a knife.

The 19-year-old was “very quickly overpowered and arrested” and no-one was hurt, the company that runs the iconic landmark said.

France has been under a state of emergency since 130 people were killed in attacks in the city in November 2015.

Police evacuated the tower immediately after the incident on Saturday night.

French media reported the man had previously spent time in a psychiatric hospital is under investigation for brandishing a knife and trying to breach security at the Eiffel Tower.

A judicial official said the man had held out a knife and said “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for “God is great”.

The man was wearing a Paris Saint-germain football shirt. At the time the tower was lit up with PSG’S team colours and hosted a screen displaying a message welcoming Brazilian star Neymar to the club.