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New Zealand mourn victims of Paris terrorist attacks

Xinhua, November 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Hundreds of people gathered at the city center of New Zealand capital Tuesday to commemorate victims of Paris terrorist attacks last Friday.

French Ambassador to New Zealand Florence Jeanblanc-Risler joined the memorial in Wellington Civic Square. She said the kiwis had shown "extraordinary compassion" in the last few days.

Jeanblanc-Risler said: "Words can barely translate the sorrow of a whole nation, a sadness which extends far beyond its borders. But we can be certain that they, they will never destroy joy, the freedom of youth, the happiness of being together on a Friday evening in Paris."

She read the names of some of the known victims during the memorial. Somber French music was playing and the crowd was subdued, with most standing silently or talking quietly.

Wellington Mayor Celia Wade Brown addressed the crowd that the life of cities is meant to be in public spaces, "not shut away in fear or behind closed doors."

Thomas Laurent, a French student who is studying in Wellington Victoria University, said he was joining the event to show his solidarity with families and French people 20,000 kilometers away.

Wellington Civic Square had a French flag at half-mast Tuesday. Endit