A subdued day in Paris

It is a day the Parisians will never forget. We woke up to the news that hostages had been taken on the outskirts of Paris. While we are watching live images on TV of armed forces moving in to a tiny French village surrounded by forest and fields, the breaking news hits us that there are more hostages taken in a supermarket East of Paris.

Headlines on CNN boast "Terror in France" with a photo of a policeman in combat gear. This is not Chechnya, the Middle East or America, it is all happening the other side of town, in our back yard so to speak. These terrorists are French citizens killing other French citizens!

Instead of hearing about it on BBC or Reuters news, it is the local media keeping the public informed. TF2 actually managed to locate and live interview the sister of one of the hostages before the police got in contact with her. This is our modern world.

Our end of Western Paris is unusually quiet for a Friday afternoon. The atmosphere is subdued. There are less people wandering the streets and heads turn every time a police cars rushes by.

The kids' school was closed today and as a parent I happy about this decision even though it did seem exaggerated yesterday.

As I am writing this post, the Trocadero metro station (which accesses the Eiffel Tower) has been closed down for security reasons and the general public is wondering what will happens next? IF any more attacks will occur and where...