Kiwi caught up in riots in France after Football World Cup win

Kiwi Jess Bell was among those caught up in riots in France after the Football World Cup win. Photo / Supplied

A young Kiwi travelling in France found herself running away from tear gas as she became caught up in riots after the Football World Cup victory.

Jessica Bell, of Marlborough, arrived in Lyon and decided to head to the huge fanzone to watch the big final between France and Croatia, which resulted in a 4-2 win to the French.

She met a couple of young women during the celebrations and after the victory, the new friends went to the nearby Hard Rock Cafe for some dinner.

"Everything was really cool and cheerful.

"We went to get some food and we were about to leave when we saw the security guard crossing his arms. He was saying: 'You're not going outside'.

"'He pretty much said that we didn't want to go outside'.''

All of a sudden, a large crowd - many people wearing bandannas around their faces - ran past. She guessed about 100 people were running and throwing fireworks at police and smashing windows.

Police were firing tear gas into the crowds in a bid to calm the situation.

Bell said tear gas started to seep into the building they were in and alarms were ringing for people to evacuate. No one could leave, however.

It was not until almost an hour later until they were told it was safe to be let out.

"On my way back to where I was staying, I needed to cross the land between the two rivers.''

She was told by a police officer to avoid walking in the middle and go far north or far south to cross so she did not encounter tear gas.

"I thought I went quite north but was hit with tear gas again. My eyes were burning and I started to run the rest of the way home.

"It was an unreal experience, especially for a Marlborough girl.''

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Bell's tales follows that of TVNZ reporter's Joy Reid, who found herself in a similar situation in Paris.

She told Newstalk ZB described jubilant scenes when France took the victory.

She said fans were "very passionate'' - jumping up and down and waving their flags on the street.

She and cameraman William Green got a bird's eye view of the situation as they stood on top of a building looking over towards the Arc de Triomphe.

About two hours after celebrations started, they heard glass breaking below and things got out of control.

"Things went crazy,'' she said.

"The streets emptied pretty quickly of mum and dads-types ... and then the hooligans - if I can call them that - just kept on going.

"We were literally on a roof watching shops being looted, people bottling riot police, throwing things, letting off fireworks into the crowd ... and it was just a completely different sight from what we had seen a couple of hours earlier when pure."

As she and Green made their way back to their hotel, they realised they had walked right through tear gas.

"It became evident that the police had just cleared a group that we hadn't seen. Probably 10 or 15 minutes before, so there were no people around. I stress there were no rioters around.

"They had used a large amount of tear gas to clear the people that had been in the area and we just walked through - of course you can't see it - and I can tell you, it certainly hurts.''

They ran the rest of the way to their hotel - about 50m away - and a concierge got some milk to dab on their eyes to calm the burning sensation.