It was '79 in Germany, and it had been a delightful trip through France and Belgium, but upon arriving at the train station, there were men in Khaki uniforms with big guns and all of a sudden on that platform, I felt like a prisoner offloading to a camp.
French train stations were wild with big packs of AK-47 cops or soldiers between 2015-2020 after all the bombings (no idea if still). They scared me worse than any terrorism odds.
I never saw that but went through the Gare Du Nord station the day before it got bombed. I was clueless, not reading a newspaper or seeing a tv while I was there.
Heh. I crossed paths same time/day at a (IIRC) Brussels station with those terrorists who got on a train heading to (IIRC) Paris. The one where some US soldiers in civvies foiled their plan. Details foggy now but I recall thinking, Never tell Mum this bit.