Paris protesters celebrate saving trees around the Eiffel Tower

City abandons 72m scheme to develop area and create huge garden in time for 2024 Olympics

Protesters in Paris are celebrating having saved more than 40 trees - one of them over 200 years old - from being chopped down or threatened with damage around the Eiffel Tower as part of a 72m scheme to create a huge garden.

Paris's city hall has been forced to row back on plans to clear the area around the structure on the Champ-de-Mars to improve access to the tower and make the traffic-clogged area greener in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics.