‘Paris is dead, it is a ghost town – but Parisians are strong’

A north-east man living in Paris said he refuses to “live in fear” following the events which shocked the world.

Richard Rennie, a dancer with the Moulin Rogue, was at work when the horrendous terrorist attacks broke out on Friday night.

The 30-year-old, who is originally from Aberdeen, said making his way home to his apartment in the tourist-heavy Montmartre area was “frightening”. “A lot of people were really scared,” he said. “There was a period of confusion, it was a scary atmosphere. “People were texting me saying ‘are you safe?’ When I went out onto the streets, they were just completely dead. It was almost like a ghost town.

“But I feel Parisians and the people of France are strong.”

Yesterday, Mr Rennie said there is still a large police and army presence in Paris.

But he added that normality is resuming slowly, but surely.

“There is a heavy presence of soldiers in tourist areas and there is a lot of protection at the moment,” he said.

“But I feel there is more of a community sort of feeling now, there is more of a feeling that these terrorists won’t actually win. You can’t let them win.

“I pray so much for the victims’ families. It is awful. But you can’t let these people win.”

Richard Rennie, dancer with the Moulin Rouge