Student in Paris 'freaked out'

Whangarei's Vaughan Gunson is in Paris and says the atmosphere on the streets in the days following the terror attacks is "life affirming". Photo / Michael Cunningham

A Whangarei woman shopping in Paris at the time of mass terror attacks has described the 20 minutes of fear trying to get to safety.

Back home, the 24-year-old's mother was desperately trying to reach her.

Medical student Brooke Knightbridge, 24, was shopping with Contiki Tour companions on the Champs-Elysees about 10.30pm Paris time when she started getting messages from friends back home asking if she was safe.

Brooke Knightbridge heard about the attacks while shopping about 2km from restaurant shootings that killed 14 people.

"They knew what was happening even before we did ... Then we were all in shock. As soon as we realised, we tried to get a taxi ... I was freaked out."

Brooke said she did not realise the full magnitude of what was happening until she got to her hotel and looked at the news.

"We originally heard about the shootings ... but not that there were multiple locations, which was probably quite lucky."

Leigh Knightbridge's maternal instincts have been in overdrive this weekend - her daughter is in Paris. Photo / Tania Whyte

At least 129 people died in a series of terror attacks across Paris, involving gunfire and explosives, on Saturday New Zealand time. There are no New Zealanders among the dead.

Back home, Brooke's mother Leigh had a harrowing interruption to her work Christmas party when a family member contacted her saying "You need to get hold of Brooke urgently."

"For two hours it was pretty scary ... You just get that gut feeling, thinking, 'This can't be happening.' It's so hard, being so far away you can't just run to them."

Brooke was due to leave Paris today to complete her European Contiki tour before studying in Glasgow and Dublin until February.

"Brooke rang up [Sunday] morning at about 6am in tears and said she hated it and wanted to get out," Leigh said. "I thought, do I fly there to her? Do I fly her home? Then I thought ... she's put so much preparation in. If we just flag it all on a whim then she'll regret it forever."

At the time of the attacks, Northern Advocate columnist Vaughan Gunson was in an apartment about 1500m from the Bataclan Concert Hall where more than 100 concert goers were massacred with grenades and gunfire.

"[We are] shocked and disbelieving, [and] can hear lots of sirens," he said from the holiday apartment he had rented with his partner, as the city went into emergency mode.

Mr Gunson had arrived in Paris the morning of the attacks. The couple had opted to stay in the apartment for the night as they were tired from sight-seeing. "Paris was so amazing this evening - a beautiful autumn day," Mr Gunson said. "Bars and cafes full of Parisians after work on Friday. You can imagine that happy scene disrupted so violently."

Twenty-four hours later, Mr Gunson said he had spent the day on a "chocolate tour" and described the atmosphere in the city as really calm.

"People are obviously deciding to go on with their lives. Everyone seemed to be very calm and being extra polite to each other. It was quite moving.

"I could liken it to going to a funeral of a distant relative and afterwards enjoying people's company in a polite and respectful way. Being out and about today was life affirming, that's what I picked up from the Parisians."

Mr Gunson said, despite Isis claiming responsibility for the attacks and warning of more to come, the city felt safe.

"These [attacks] were well planned and I don't think they can be undertaken at a drop of the hat with the obvious logistics involved."

Mr Gunson said he had been thinking on the many atrocities the West had committed in the Arab world.

"It's been a one-sided war. We feel it more when it come backs the other way and impacts on a city like Paris that we in New Zealand identify with."