‘Poet climber’ sidesteps security and scales U.S. embassy in Paris

• Tweet
• 
• 

• Tweet

A self-styled “poet climber” on Thursday managed to sidestep security and climb on to the roof of the US Embassy building in Paris.

Herve Couasnon, whose previous stunts have included sneaking into France’s National Assembly and a nuclear power station, told AFP by phone from the roof that he wanted to meet Barack Obama, give the president his CV and talk peace — a reference to Obama’s ongoing Middle East trip.

Emergency services established a security cordon around the embassy and readied a safety net for fear the eccentric bus driver might slip and fall from his position, perched precariously over metal railings on the edge of the roof.

In 2002, Couasnon made headlines after making his way into the National Assembly as then Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin was speaking. He was able to present the premier with a sports trophy before stewards ushered him out.

He claims to have scaled the US embassy once before, in 1991 during the first Gulf war.