Cavan woman's first-hand account of making sense of Paris' chaos
A Cavan native living in Paris has spoken of her shock on the night of the Paris massacres, which saw 132 people murdered by terrorist group Isis, who have claimed responsibility for the atrocity.
Caroline Mullen from Cootehill has been in the French capital on a Bord Bia marketing fellowship with UCD since July and lives in the 12th arrondissement less than three kilometres away from the Bataclan massacre, which claimed the majority of the lives lost.
Below is Caroline's full account of her experience over the Friday-Sunday period - thankfully, even though she lives in the city centre, she was unharmed - when the attack occurred and the after-effects on the city. An extract of her emailed piece appears in this week's Anglo Celt.
'On the night of November 13, I, thankfully, was at home in my apartment in Montgallet in the 12th Arrondissement. I was on a phonecall to a friend at home when I received a message asking me what was going on in Paris that there are terrible reports of shootings on TV and my whereabouts,' she writes.
'I immediately turned on the TV to be met with live reporting’s of the shootings and explosions after happening at several locations - the closest to me was La Belle Equipe, a café/restaurant only a 20-minute walk from where I live. My immediate reaction was to find out the whereabouts of all my friends and colleagues in Paris but on a rare occasion we all happened to be having a quiet Friday night so, thankfully, everyone I knew was safe. The rest of the night I remained glued to the live updates on TV watching everything unfold.
'Mentally, I was trying to make sense of the chaos that was happening out on the streets of Paris with the frequent messages coming in from family and friends ensuring I was ok. As well as living relatively near one of the attacks, I’m also based right beside Saint Antoine hospital so the noise of sirens is normal to me with emergency services going in and out but they were non-stop that night. I didn’t want to even think of what these emergency service people were faced with on the streets.
'I think generally I was ok, very shocked wondering what was going to happen from there, what was the city going to be like tomorrow. Is there going to be more attacks. Watching Francois Hollandes (French President) first public speech was touching - you could see his emotion and shock at what had happened.
'At 1.30am, my housemate Gabriel, 27, returned to the apartment, a true Parisien born and reared. He had been out at work he looked at me with tears in his eyes and sat down in front of the TV and said nothing he was very shook up and obviously upset I thought to myself this was his home town and he, like me, couldn’t comprehend what was happening in Paris. I didn’t know how to console him but I offered him tea with milk - Ireland's answer to everything - which he refused. He just said 'I’m in shock'. At 2.30am, I went to bed and I could still hear the sirens of emergency services continuing and helicopters circulating.
'My alarm sounded at 8am the next morning, I was tired but immediately went on to social media looking for updates on the attacks. I then received a message from a friend saying he will be a little late for our run this morning but he would be there. I thought to myself, 'really should we still going out there?' But I thought: 'It’s my only opportunity to get out of the house today and while I had company, it give me confidence so I got up and met my friend and we went to the park and ran our usual, steady 10km. I was very surprised life was continuing as normal, groups out jogging, or walking, people out walking their dogs and parents out amusing their kids.
'The only thing I did find unusual was that people would smile or gesture at one another in support of each other being out. I feel that, in general, people in Paris are not normally like this they are closed and keep to themselves so this little gesture was a nice recognition that no, everything is not okay but we are continuing. This outing give me confidence as I work on an individual basis here in Paris and I knew I was going to have to come out and face the streets at some point.
'Shops were open, my local supermarket and bakery were open, everything seemed as normal, definitely quieter than the normal Saturday morning but there was still people around. The Parisiens were not going to let these attacks stop them. However, I returned to the house after my run and remained indoors for the rest of the day glued to the TV and social networks updates. It was a very long day, watching political representatives trying to reassure the people and trying to give answers on what had happened.
'On the Sunday, I went to my friend’s house for brunch, which I was so glad to get out of the house, after the lengthy day spent previously indoors. So, I walked down to my friend’s house, which took about 15 minutes. I was not brave enough to face the metro. But there were numerous people out walking and running so I felt reassured and safe.
'Following brunch, my two friends and I went down to pay our respects with the hundreds of others at the Bataclan theatre. It was cordoned off, so we couldn’t see much of the theatre and police officials where manning the street. Media vans with huge satellite dishes sprawled everywhere. People where coming and going trying to find space to lay their flowers and light their candles, there was an eerie feel around, some people were visibly upset.
'I guess, they were like myself trying not to imagine what the victims had went through a couple of yards up their road, two nights previously. I don’t know what to expect in coming days or weeks, large gatherings and events are prohibited until Thursday. I hope that there are no attacks to follow but everyone is trying to be brave and get on with their normal lives. I can imagine that people will remain tense, cautious and unsure for many months to come. All we can do now is think and pray for the victims, their families and friends. I feel very fortunate that all of my team in Paris and I came away safe.'