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Another Singaporean, who was in Paris for work and declined to be named, described being caught in tear gas near Place de la Republique.<\/span><\/p>\n The 33-year-old was meeting up with a friend who lived near the protest areas.<\/span><\/p>\n At the square, she saw police barricades but said people were still allowed to enter and leave.<\/p>\n The atmosphere initially appeared peaceful.<\/p>\n That changed when she heard screams and saw people suddenly running towards her.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next thing I saw was the tear gas was thrown towards our direction \u2026 The tear gas, when I first smelled it, it was choking on the throat and on the chest, and then slowly it affects the eyes,\u201d she told CNA.<\/span><\/p>\n She said she and her friend tried to escape but were pushed back by police and directed from one side of the square to another before eventually being allowed out.<\/p>\n During the ordeal, strangers offered them eye drops, she recalled.<\/p>\n Mr Edwin Ho, 40, who has lived in Paris for four years, said the latest unrest felt different from previous demonstrations he had witnessed.<\/p>\n \u201cI do feel like this time was a little bit different \u2026 I think people were much more affected this time round than past protests that I\u2019ve seen,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Although his neighbourhood was spared from the worst of the unrest, metro closures forced him to cancel plans and stay home over the weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n Mr Ho felt that the destruction and chaos had overshadowed the causes that peaceful protesters were fighting for. \u201cIt wasn’t what people expected it to be,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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