Paris police chief says winning crime fight at Eiffel Tower

Paris: The head of the Paris police department said that crime had fallen significantly around the Eiffel Tower and other tourist hotspots ahead of th...

Paris: The head of the Paris police department said that crime had fallen significantly around the Eiffel Tower and other tourist hotspots ahead of the Olympics later this year.

Laurent Nunez told AFP that the deployment of extra police had helped reduce incidents of robbery and assault around the Eiffel Tower where the alleged rape of two foreign tourists caused a public outcry last year.

"We've had excellent results in this area as well as other tourists zones in Paris," he told AFP at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on Friday, saying that several dozen police were on the ground around the monument throughout the day.

The number of reported physical assaults fell by 58 percent to 21 incidents in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period of 2023, while reported crimes involving property, which includes theft, fraud and vandalism, fell by 18 percent to 170 incidents, he said.

"There are controversies, people talking about it being a lawless area or cut-throat. It's not at all," he added.