The north-east’s French community gathered in the heart of the Granite City yesterday to show solidarity with the people of Paris.
Around 200 people – French citizens standing shoulder-to-shoulder with local people and politicians – descended on Aberdeen’s Castlegate to pay an emotional tribute to the harrowing number of lives lost.
The contingent wrote messages of support in a prayer book which will be sent to the French capital.
Organiser David Lasseau, 41, also led an emotional rendition of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, before a minute’s silent was held.
Attendees were visibly emotional, many with tears in their eyes.
As Mr Lasseau, 41, addressed the crowd from the Castlegate’s Mercat Cross, he recited the famous words of the French constitution – “liberty, equality, parity”.
The French conseiler consulaire, who is a reader at Aberdeen University, said: “These are actions of war, not acts of terrorism, and these kind of attacks are not going to change our way of life.
“We must conquer hate with tolerance. These people aim to divide us, they aim to tear our communities apart. They must not be allowed to do so.”
Aurore Lardenois, a teaching student at Aberdeen University who is originally from Nantes, was one of the attendees.
The 21-year-old said she was still coming to terms with the news.
She said: “Personally, none of my friends were injured, but one of my friends was in the stadium and my best friend was watching a play in Paris. My family is near Paris as well.
“To realise it was so close, I don’t even know how I feel really about that. I felt sick.
“I am just praying nothing happens again.”
Fellow student, David Durand Degranges, 18 – who is from the south-west of France – said: “At first I was scared for my friends and family of course. Thank God they are alright. My cousins were right next to one of the shooting and heard the gun shots.
Sylvain Vertel, originally from the Paris suburbs, said he rushed to contact his family following the incident.
The 38-year-old geography teacher, who works at the Total French School, said: “Part of my family live next to the Stad De France, they heard the explosions but they didn’t notice that it was a terror attack.
“As French teachers we have a task and duty with the pupils not to create frustration or anger, so we need to talk peacefully and to understand what it was that happened in France.”
Father-of-three Philippe Rio, who is originally from Levallois, said it was important to attend the service to show people in Paris that the world is there for them.
“We are here to show that we care for what happened in Paris. So we can understand what happened and explain it to our children and find a solution to this,” he said.
Leila Belkhadja, a 20-year-old RGU forensic science student from Lyon, added: “I think now we just want to get home just to be with our families.”
Sarah Piegay, 20, who studies on the same course and is also from Lyon said: “It is very terrible and we are really affected by that.”
Justine Jaguin, 30, who hails from Reimes said: “We followed the event over the weekend. We just felt shocked and confused and scared and angry.”
Aberdeen University worker Loic Harrault, 30, said: “I am from Paris and I know a lot of people who live in Paris. I had to ask the people I know living in Paris if they were okay. It could happen to anyone, anywhere.”
Inverurie man Llyod Inglis, 28 – who is half French – said: “We knew the area where the things happened around, those are places we knew growing up, walking about. It is something that could happen anywhere in the world.”
The prayer book will be at Aberdeen’s Town house from today for members of the public to write their own messages of support.
North-east SNP MSP, Christian Allard – who is originally from Dijon – said: “I think it is good to see the togetherness of the French community here. Unfortunately we have been here before in January at the beginning of this year. We just want it not to happen again.
“We find it more difficult because the last time in January with Charlie Hebdo it was emotional because it was an attack on freedom of speech, now it is very different. It is very much a terrorist attack.”