Two third years from Grey College tell us about the chilling atmosphere in Paris

Violet and Phoebe, a pair of Grey third years, reveal the tense atmosphere in Paris following the devastating terror attacks on Friday that left 129 dead.

Both of them are on a year abroad. Having narrowly avoided the disaster and quickly received texts from concerned friends. This is their story.

Violet Nicholson said: “It is a way of life that is targeted. A culture that delights in harmlessly socialising with friends, expression through art and music, and the skills and teamwork that come with practising sport.”

Phoebe, who is studying French and Italian, was heading along the Boulevard Voltaire past the Bataclan about an hour before anything happened.

She said: “We actually went back on ourselves and chose a bar five minutes round the corner from the Bataclan, avoiding the main scene.

“Then I started getting calls and texts from French friends, telling us to stay at home and to not go anywhere near the 10e or 11e, that there were ‘bad things happening’. I went outside to call my friend, and the bar manager asked if I was in or out because he was locking the doors. I decided to leave to meet my friend, and ran towards Bastille – in the opposite direction to all the ambulances passing. As I crossed the road, two cars crashed head-on in front of me and for a second everyone around thought it was another bomb.

This photograph was taken at the Place de la République on 15/11/2015

“I got to Bastille fine, but people were panicking because there had been another shooting just up the road, and the police weren’t letting anyone move. Eventually I met my friend and we took the backstreets to somebody’s house who let us stay the night and we watched the news and called our friends and family. It seemed like it wasn’t ending when we heard about the hostages in the Bataclan.

“We were all so lucky to have been so near and all have been safe.

“Yesterday we went to each of the scenes to leave candles and read the messages. We were just walking home when two of us got calls saying something seemed to be happening at République, the main square where people were gathered to pray and pay their respects.

“Two Durham students also on a year abroad said they had been walking nearby and had suddenly seen a crowd screaming and running towards them. Other people had been in a cafe and had been told to lie down on the floor and the managers had locked the doors and closed the shutters. It turned out to be a false alarm after someone mistook firecrackers for gunshots, but that basically sums up the atmosphere here.

“People keep messaging me saying this is the time you should feel safest because security is so ramped up, but actually there is still a feeling that Paris isn’t in the clear, and the way that the terrorists went about their attack, like the drive-by shootings, which were senseless, unsophisticated, barbaric, it feels like it could happen anywhere and to anyone.”

Violet Nicholson said: “My Friday night plans took me away from the target zones completely by chance. My heart goes out to all those people who have been affected by this ruthless, painful evening, and to all those who experience pain like this around the world, much more often in life than is fair – even once is too much for one lifetime.”