Consoling hugs, candles alight, letters of compassion and floral tributes. These are the images Kamara Buchanan hopes will resonate with the world after the Paris terrorist attacks that killed at least 129 people and injured 200 more.
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The mother-of-two from Fisher wrote in the condolence book outside the French Embassy in Yarralumla that many hearts are saddened by the tragedy but the world will unite in strength.
She and her husband spent their honeymoon in Paris and have close friends who have lived there.
"It personally affected us because we know the area very well," Mrs Buchanan said.
"I have two little ones, and so I can really place myself there because of the people that I remember seeing. We go to cafes when we're in Canberra, we go to shows, and the people that were out there were just doing what we would be doing here."
Around 100 people, including diplomats, attended a Canberra vigil at the French embassy led by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove on Monday.
The embassy has been a site of solidarity since Canberrans learned of the tragic news on Saturday morning. Parliament House, The Kings Avenue bridge, The Carillion at Lake Burley Griffin and the Telstra Tower have each been lit up in the colours of the French flag. A spokesperson for the National Museum of Australia announced on Monday it will also light up its iconic loop for the mourning period "in solidarity with the people of France at this terrible time".
On behalf of the French community living in Canberra, French citizen Dimitri Tolleter expressed appreciation for "the attention of the city of Canberra after those horrible attacks in Paris".
"It makes us feel part of a world community and not only from a country," she said.
"It makes us not feel alone."
Lecturer in Arabic at the Australian National University France Meyer was thankful that none of her relatives living in Paris were hurt in the "tragedy of our time".
"One must also remember the victims of the Beirut bombing the day before, those of the Russian plane, and the many many refugees who are fleeing away from their family, friends and way of life," she said.
