'Paris will never be the same again'

Hawke's Bay native Jeff Franklin said he felt helpless and numb after witnessing the Paris attacks. Photo / FIle

Former Napier Boys' High School teacher Jeff Franklin was an ear witness to the Paris attacks which left an estimated 129 dead.

"Paris will never be the same again, it can't go back to what it was before," he said.

"People will associate Paris more with things like this, and the Charlie Hebdo attacks."

Mr Franklin said it was just luck that he had avoided the attacks.

He had returned from Prague on Saturday evening and had driven past Stade de France an hour before the bombs went off.

At his accommodation at Rue de Chateau D'Eau in the 10th Arrondissement, he heard a "tremendous sound", but didn't realise what it was until news started coming through.

The two attacks on Rue Alibert were just over 1km away from Mr Franklin, who said he could clearly hear sounds of those attacks and noise from the Stade de France.

"I wasn't in the middle of it but I was there.

"I could hear sounds, the boom, people shouting, sounds of sirens and ambulances, screaming, and then for hours there were no sounds.

"Paris is incredibly noisy but it all went quiet because of the curfew, there were no cars, no people.

"It was just this eeriness that descended on the city."

In texts sent to Hawke's Bay Today Mr Franklin said "there are soldiers everywhere. It's like a war zone".

He said: "I felt scared at the time and then a great relief to find out the terrorists [were dead]."

"I didn't think I'd ever be caught up in it myself."

Mr Franklin said police had told everyone to stay inside, imposing the first curfew since 1944. When it was lifted yesterday, he went to get breakfast and said he saw only one other person on the long street.

Mr Franklin texted: "It was like a battlefield here last night.

"We wake up to a sad Paris and now start the grieving process".

He said the mood in Paris was very sombre and quiet.

"A 10th of the people that would normally be on the streets were out. It was very quiet, no buzz, no activity, nothing."

It reminded him of a war scene, and thought it was probably the most eerie time in Paris since World War II.

"We had been in the dark but in the morning you started to see people's faces, and started to understand."

Mr Franklin said he felt he had some understanding of what people felt in New York on 9/11.

But the fact that a number of the attacks had been in the 10th and 11th arrondissements hadn't surprised him, as he had noticed a feeling of tension in the area.

He thought this feeling was because of unemployment levels among a population who were mostly recent immigrants from African and Arab countries.

"I could sense every day that there was a lot of stress and anger in the air."

Mr Franklin said after hours of ambulances going back and forth, he would associate the sound of a siren with death and terrorism.

"It's a different perception of that sound, and it makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck."

He texted: "Every time the sirens go off, which is often, we wonder. I suppose when fire crackers go off we will be left wondering if it's an automatic gun fire.

"My heart goes out to the families of those killed, and the people who were injured, and the French, and the most important thing is to be a part of that."

Mr Franklin had been in France on and off for four weeks, travelling and doing research for his MBA.