THE French community in Worcester held hands and wept as they observed a minute's silence in memory of those killed by terrorists in Paris.

Before the emotionally charged silence outside Worcester Guildhall at 11am today candles were lit out of respect for those who lost their lives or were wounded at the hands of Islamist gunmen and suicide bombers on Friday.

Candles were lit spelling out 'Paris', bouquets of flowers were laid and slogans written in chalk as members of the city's French community unfurled the tricolour flag.

They were soon joined by members of the British and Portuguese communities who laid their own flags to show solidarity with the French and out of respect for their own dead, slain in the atrocity.

The Mayor of Worcester, Cllr Roger Knight, also attended to pay his respects and talk to those who had observed the silence.

Slogans included 'Solidarité', 'Peace and a lot of love' and

'Nous n’avons pas peur' (we do not fear), 'Tous ensemble contre l'extremisme' (all together against extremism) and 'tolérance, paix (peace), respect, amour (love)'.

The terror plot saw 129 people murdered in coordinated strikes in the French capital on Friday.

Following the silence members of Worcester's French community, many women who had married British men, were overcome with emotion and some broke down in tears, hugging each other for support. Around 10 French women attended the silence.

Mother-of-one Michelle Evington, aged 47, formerly of Worcester, is the daughter of a French woman and grew up in Paris between the ages of four and 18.

She said the cares she had growing up there were small compared to those of the people in the Paris of today.

A close friend of hers, Emilie Court, aged in her 30s, whom she has known since she was a little girl lives in Paris in the neighbourhood of the Bataclan music hall where the majority of the victims died.

Emilie, who herself described the incident as an attack on the youth of France, heard the gunfire.

Mrs Evington said: "Unfortunately this is our reality now. Friday night - I will never forget that night. I heard about it in the middle of the night.

"I was terrified something had happened to Emilie. It was hell. I spoke to her on Saturday morning. She could hear the shooting.

"Another friend's son lives around there and heard shooting, thinking it was fireworks but then he saw the bodies lying on the ground."

Isabelle Michel, originally from Marseille but now of Barbourne, Worcester, said the situation in Paris had been building up for decades, blaming deprivation, poverty and inequality in the banlieues or outskirts of French cities, including Paris.

The 39-year-old mother-of-two said: "I needed this and took time off work to come here. It was so shocking."

Mrs Michel said this attack felt more personal than that on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, an attack on the way of life of French people.

She said: "Muslim people need to know that we love them. This is just the work of a few crazy people that are trying to divide the community away from each other.

"There is already division but they want the rift to be even bigger."

Mother-of-two Aurelia Cox, aged 33, of Warndon Villages, Worcester, but originally from Poitiers in France said: "It is to show support for people who have lost loved ones. It is something that is affecting the whole French nation and community.

"It is very sad. It is disgusting. It is revolting. I don't know what can be done. Why can't wars be fought between armies and leave the poor innocent people alone?"

Pedro Doroteia, 47, and wife Vanda, 54, laid a Portuguese flag in memory of the two Portuguese nationals slain in the attacks and five others wounded.

Mrs Doroteia said: "It's awful. It could have been anywhere else in the world. This has been terrible because it's innocent people.

"It is a war against innocence. These people do not represent Islam. This is not to do with religion.

"Religion is just their excuse to do what they do."

French people had met outside Cafe Rouge in Friar Street before heading to the Guildhall for the silence.

The tributes were organised by a woman who wished to be known only as 'Veronique' who is from Worcester but hails originally from Antibes.