Clément Dumais and Paul Roux stayed on Sunday evening at the site of the 38-meter-high statue at nightfall after closing.
The two French then entered before dawn inside the statue to come out through a hatch on one of the arms in order to observe the sunrise over "the wonderful city" and its majestic Guanabara bay. .
The distance from one hand to the other of the statue of Christ with outstretched arms is 28 meters.
But the adventure ended there for the two young men from the Paris region.
They were arrested Monday, then released after the payment of a deposit of 10,000 reais (1,600 euros) and will have to appear before a judge, the same source said.
Contacted by AFP, the Rio tourist police did not comment on this affair, explaining "being in the process of verifying" the facts.
Familiar with dizzying performance
Thrill-seekers, the two Frenchmen born in the 1990s are familiar with dizzying performances on iconic buildings in Dubai, New York or Paris, of which they post photos and videos on social networks.
The statue of Christ the Redeemer, whose 90th anniversary will be celebrated in October, has just been restored with professional climbers equipped with harnesses and working above the void.
It had already suffered incursions during previous renovations.
In 1991 and 2010, Christ was smeared with graffiti.
Along with the Rio Sugarloaf, Christ the Redeemer, located at the top of Corcovado hill, is the most visited site in the tourist capital of Brazil.
It receives nearly two million tourists each year.
But by day.
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