The French newspaper Sortir a Paris reported that there was indeed an incident at the Eiffel Tower on the morning of Tuesday, December 24. But the company that manages the structure, Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), said it was simply a short circuit in the elevator's electrical rails.

The incident occurred between the second and top floors of the tower and triggered a fire alarm at 10:50 a.m. The cause of the fire, according to the fire department, was likely an overheating of a piece of equipment near an elevator cable. While it was a significant concern, the fire was quickly extinguished and authorities are investigating further to determine the exact cause of the fire.

After the fire alarm, SETE was forced to evacuate about 1,200 people from the Eiffel Tower to ensure the safety of visitors. The company assured that there was no danger to visitors and gradually reopened the structure late Tuesday.

The incident follows a false alarm in January this year, when social media posts claimed the Eiffel Tower was on fire. The claim was later exposed as a hoax.

The Eiffel Tower has experienced actual fires before, most notably in 1956 when a fire broke out in the tower's television room, causing significant damage.

The fire at the Eiffel Tower last Tuesday, although not as big as in 1956, still caused great concern for the French public, especially when the memory of the terrible fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris five years ago has not faded.

On April 15, 2019, a fire raged for nearly 15 hours, collapsing the cathedral's 18th-century spire, destroying the roof and part of the vaulted ceiling. In December of this year, Notre Dame reopened to the public after extensive repairs.

Quang Anh (according to Sortir a Paris, Independent, Newsx)