Hundreds of students and members of staff gathered for a one minute silence at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) in a show of solidarity with the people of Paris, following Friday night’s terror attacks.
The students and staff joined millions across the UK and several continents in observing the silence in union with the people of France at 11am GMT today.
The bells of Trinity Chapel were rung to mark the start of the silence in Hawthorn Square, which was impeccably observed.
De Montfort University has 60 French students based on campus and they have been contacted by the international student support team to offer condolences and help.
Students explained after the silence why it was important for them to pay their respects to the 129 innocent people who died in the attacks, the 352 men and women who were injured, and the loved ones the victims had left behind.
Rehan Nazir, a final year Audiology student, said: “We just wanted to be here to show our respects to the victims and their families.”
Alisdair Gibson, a first year Mental Health Nursing student from Leicester, said: “I am here because my grandparents have been affected by the terror attacks in Kenya and I fear for the future of my children.
“My eight-year-old son said on Saturday “why can’t everyone get on and protect each other?”.
Jon Bousie, a fellow first year Mental Health Nursing student, added: “I want to pay tribute to the victims and their families and stand together with them.”
Lorna Tait, a second year Psychology student, said she had heard about the news from her father, who works in the military.
The 19-year-old said: “I came along today because I think what’s happened is absolutely terrible. It’s so close to us here in this country; if it had been in this country my dad would have been sent in to help.
“What saddens me most is that this is the work of such a small group of people which is causing such a huge amount of trouble for so many people.”
22-year-old David Pilsworth, a second-year Mechatronics student, said he had chosen to observe the silence because he felt the problem of terrorism involved everyone as individuals.
He said: “As individuals we can educate and support each other and being here is part of that, part of being aware of the problem. We are all humans and we are all affected by this."
Posted on Monday 16 November 2015