Four Estevan couples found themselves in Paris last week when the terrorist attacks were being launched, but fortunately for them they were on the other side of the city.
Paul and Shelley Carroll, Vince and Kim Marcotte, Kate Lee and John Nolin and Roy and Denise Ludwig were enjoying the sights and sounds of the magical city and viewing the Eiffel Tower at a prime time in the evening, when its lights begin to flash and a string of police and emergency response sirens pierced the air.
“We were in a large city, so really I didn’t think that much about it at the time,” said Paul Carroll, who spoke with the Mercury shortly after their return. “A city of that size, you’d expect to hear sirens, but these were continual. We never realized the importance, the impact of it all until we got back to our hotel and happened to catch all the chaos on our TV,” he said, adding they tuned in to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to catch the English version of the dramas and tragedies that were unfolding.
“We were about 10 kilometres from where most of the shootings took place,” said Carroll who added that the touring group was nearing the end of their planned three-days in Paris.
Carroll has a cellphone video of the Eiffel Tower as the sparkling lights started to dance in the darkness and then the sounds of the emergency response sirens become quite audible in the background.
“There were a few anxious hours. We stayed in the hotel and were given reassurance that everything was all right where we were. I know I tried to get some sleep, but wasn’t very successful. We just kept watching the drama on TV because the BBC had reporters on the scene almost immediately.”
The next morning the group reconsidered their plans since some were going to split up to go on a river tour while another team was heading to Normandy or heading home.
They didn’t know if the airport was going to be open or not and Carroll said “it was almost eerie on the highway because it seemed like our bus was the only vehicle on it at times. Not much traffic, the full impact of what had happened sort of hit me again.”
That breakfast discussion led to decisions to carry on with original plans, if they were allowed to, which was the case.
“At the airport, we could see how security was definitely stepped up. There were all kinds of armed military and police there. There were lots of security lock downs going on all around the city, but our flight wasn’t disrupted so we got back to Britain as planned,” said Carroll, who added later “it seemed to be even more unsettling after, when we learned how tragic it all was. At the time it was happening, it just didn’t seem real. The full impact of this tragedy definitely came later.”
