Paris a city 'in mourning' say tourists, as dark Eiffel Tower stays closed

Tourists in Paris have described how the city "is in mourning" after the decision was made to close the Eiffel Tower following Friday's terror attacks.

Just a handful of single yellow lights adorned France's most famous landmark, with the usual swelling crowds noticeably absent.

Belgian tourist Reda Jouibli said the decision to shut the visitor attraction reflected the sombre mood in the city.

The 18-year-old said: "It is almost funereal. It's dark, like it is in mourning. This feels really strange being here and hardly being able to see the Eiffel Tower.

"I arrived here on Friday and within five minutes there was the terror attack. It's been a really unlucky week for a holiday here because so much is closed.

"But it is for a good reason so I understand. It's really terrible what happened."

Paris resident Othmane Youssfi, 23, said it was strange to see "the city of love" looking so sad.

He said: "I don't think I've ever seen so few people here. This place is normally so busy.

"I understand why the tower is closed, I think it gives perspective on the terrible things that have happened."

Another Belgian visitor, who gave her name as Erine, said: "It's a very sad situation. We can't see anything. Everything is closed. It's not nice to walk around.

"Before everything was OK,. there were a lot of people around and everything was open - you could visit museums. But now you can't do anything.

"They also told us it's better to stay in the hotel, but it's not nice to stay in the hotel all day."

She said the Eiffel Tower seemed like it was "dead".

"Nobody is here. It's grey and I have a very strange feeling, I'm a little bit scared.

"I also think there are not enough police officers around. It's really not enough. If something happened again, they couldn't help us or they couldn't do anything. It's not really safe."

Another returning visitor, Thomas, visiting with his partner Lisa, said: "Paris before, at this time, was very amazing. Right now, people are terrified. You can't see anybody outside.

"It's very strange. Everywhere is closed."