France detains two for parachuting off Eiffel Tower

Security staff spotted the pair scaling the 330-metre Paris monument before dawn, wearing balaclavas and carrying parachutes, the source said.

They called police and civil defence to the scene, who tried to make contact with the climbers. They latter signalled they wanted to jump.

They leapt off the tower at around 06:00 am local time (0400 GMT), and police arrested them once they had landed.

Police also detained a third person who had been near the monument but had not taken part in the climb, the source said.

Completed in 1889 for Paris' Universal Exhibition, the Eiffel Tower is owned by the city of Paris.

One of the world's most visited monuments, it attracts around seven million people every year -- around three-quarters of them from abroad, according to its website.