Panic in European capital as bridge closes from weight of tourists | World | News

One of the most famous bridges in Paris has had to close because of the weight of tourists visiting the city for the Olympics.

The Pont de Bir-Hakeim, a two-tier structure that sits opposite the Eiffel Tower had to shut because its elevated walkway began to womble while spectators watched the marathon.

During the event, the Times reported that heavy bolts were seen falling from the bridge’s supports causing concern to engineers. As a result, a decision has been taken to close the iconic landmark as repairs are carried out.

Speaking to Le Figaro, a city official said that Paris “came close to a disaster” because of the wobbling structure.

Conservative mayor of Paris’ 16^th arrondissement Jeremy Redler told Le Parisien newspaper that they “knew there would be too many tourists with Olympic events passing underneath”. He added: “Luckily nothing tragic happened.”

The closure of the Pont de Bir-Hakeim bridge, which has featured in several famous films including the eighth Mission: Impossible film, comes after Paris successfully hosted the Olympics.

Ahead of the sporting spectacle, there had been concerns about the impact of thousands of tourists flocking to the city and whether or not they would be entirely safe. However, the quadrennial sporting spectacular passed off successfully.

While Paris may have been a success, there was concern for France as a whole after it came 80^th in a survey of the world’s safest nations for travellers.

The survey, conducted by HelloSafe, saw France rank as the 80^th safest country for travellers and only the 34^th safest in Europe. The rankings were decided using a set of 35 indicators using five sets of criteria that included health infrastructure, involvement in armed conflict, and violence in society.

The HelloSafe report said: “Of particular note is the poor ranking of France, only 80th in the world and 34th in Europe, with a score of 36 points. This position can be explained in particular by the terrorist threat, which is still very present in the country.”

Despite its fall, the report reassured: “Generally speaking, Europe is the safest continent for travellers from all over the world.

“In fact, based on the findings, European countries occupy 30 of the 50 safest places in the world, including Switzerland (fifth in the world and fourth in Europe, with an index of 20.51), the Netherlands (20th and 17th, index of 26.22) and Belgium (31st and 24th, index of 28.31).