Arc de Triomphe area in Paris evacuated following bomb alert

The area around the Arc de Triomphe in central Paris has been evacuated following a bomb alert, local media reported on Tuesday afternoon, said Xinhua.

According to CNEWS TV, "checks were underway following the discovery of a bag containing hundreds of munitions at Champ de Mars," the large public green space between the Eiffel Tower and the Ecole Militaire (military school).

France has been on high alert since the beheading of a history teacher on Oct. 16 by an attacker of Chechen origin.

Last Thursday, the train station Part-Dieu in France's third-largest city of Lyon had to be evacuated after a bomb threat made by a woman who carried several bags and threatened to blow them up.

On Sept. 23, the Eiffel Tower was evacuated and closed for nearly two hours after an anonymous caller told the police that a bomb had been planted at the monument.