It is an eye-catcher for all extreme climbers with its 187 meters, 49 floors and small squares suitable for climbing holds. But the specialist in the field Alain Robert is no longer the only one to have climbed the Total tower, located in the business district of La Défense (Hauts-de-Seine). Several "heirs" of the French Spider-Man have also included the skyscraper on the list of their exploits. This Sunday morning, it was Alexis Landot, 21, who made himself known a few months ago for having climbed the Montparnasse tower (Paris XIVe) with his bare hands, who launched an attack on the tower. . We followed him.
8:30 am
.
Appointment is given near the Total tower.
Alexis Landot arrives alone, backpack, Bermuda shorts and sneakers.
He seems preoccupied.
“I don't like the weather, it's too cloudy,” explains the 21-year-old graphic design student, who has already postponed his climbing project several times due to weather conditions.
Crazy enough to launch such a challenge, the young climber nonetheless masters all the parameters.
9 hours
.
Alexis decides to wait.
He scans the sky and his phone.
Where does the wind come from ?
Will it finally rain?
Is the weather forecast for a clear window in the business district?
Joined by his small group of friends, most of them also urban climbing enthusiasts, Alexis prefers to get away from the tower so as not to be noticed.
9:45
.
Time is clearing.
Under the Grande Arche, Alexis is smiling again.
The ascent is scheduled 45 minutes later.
Time to swallow some dried fruit and get ready.
Wash your hands, put straps on your fingers to avoid injuring yourself with the walls of the tower.
And concentrate.
Alexis gets ready before starting to climb the Total Tower.
LP / Olivier Arandel
10:35 am
.
Everything accelerates: Alexis puts on his climbing shoes and walks with a determined step towards the tower, after having hugged Mathilde, his girlfriend.
The first few meters of the ascent are decisive.
You have to go high enough that the tower security service has no choice but to let it continue.
10:39 am
.
The security guard arrives, furious.
Intimates to Alexis the order to come down, in vain.
"You mustn't yell sir," tries a friend of the climber.
He must not be distracted… ”The inhabitants of the building located behind the tower begin to film through their windows.
10:45 am
.
"I love you Mathilde," cries Alexis, who must have reached the fifteenth floor and progresses at her own pace with disconcerting ease.
The young climber started climbing very early and trained a lot before attempting this ascent, studying the tower from every angle.
Alexis begins the ascent with bare hands of the Total tower, 187 meters high.
LP / Olivier Arandel
10:47 am
.
Firefighters and police arrive and secure the area.
This little number on a Sunday morning doesn't really amuse them.
And this, especially since in the sky of La Défense appears a drone, piloted in secret by a friend of Alexis and which films his ascent, in addition to the "go pro" fixed on his head.
10:51 am
.
A plainclothes firefighter arrives on a scooter.
La Défense barracks are located at the foot of the tower.
" One again ?
We are not far if he falls, ”he blase.
Alexis does not seem to encounter any difficulty and is progressing rapidly.
It's Mathilde who seems tense on the top floors.
The young extreme climber progresses slowly, along the walls of the 187-meter tower.
LP / Olivier Arandel
11:24.
It's over.
Applause resounded.
Alexis waves her arms briefly from the top of the tower.
He is obviously expected by the police up there.
But he's safe.
Mathilde sends messages to reassure Alexis' father and cousin.
In less than an hour, Alexis Landot reached the top of the tower.
A relief for those who accompany him.
LP / Olivier Arandel
11:34
.
Alexis appears at the reception and leaves the tower escorted by three policemen.
The police station is located just a few dozen meters away.
The procedure wants him to be placed in police custody.
His lawyer has been warned.