German national team back in Paris hotel after bomb scare

PARIS (AP) — Germany's national soccer team returned to its hotel in western Paris after being evacuated following a bomb threat on Friday morning.

The Hotel Molitor said an anonymous caller phoned in the threat at 9:50 a.m. and that members of Germany's squad, who were to face France later Friday, and all other guests were immediately evacuated.

Police with sniffer dogs went on site to check for potential explosives and a security perimeter was established around the hotel.

While the police did their searches, Germany's players spent a few hours up the road at Roland Garros, home of the French Open.

Germany forward Lukas Podolski posted a photo on his Twitter account of himself standing on court alongside midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and two other Germany team members.

"Die Mannschaft came for a little visit in Roland Garros this morning. No cleats on the clay guys!" Roland Garros tweeted on its official feed.

At about 2 p.m., the team bus drove out of the tennis complex and made it back to the nearby hotel after police cordons had been removed and the road reopened.

Team members then stepped off the bus and reconvened in the hotel lobby.