Dozens of people were killed in Paris on Friday in a series of terror attacks. The assailants opened fire in different locations throughout the city.
As the tragedy unfolded, Paris police officials advised citizens to stay inside as French President François Hollande closed the nation's borders and issued a state of emergency.
In the wake of the attacks, the hashtag #PorteOuverte was started on Twitter as a way to help people seeking shelter.
IF YOU'RE IN PARIS AND YOU NEED A SAFE PLACE TO SAY SEARCH THE HASHTAG #PORTEOUVERTE PEOPLE ARE OFFERING SAFE HOMES FOR YOU TO STAY
Porte Ouverte, which means "open door" in English, was then started by French speakers to offer French and non–French speakers shelter. They just have to track a hashtag, and DM the user a for directions to a safe location.
Si des gens sont vers Corentin Cariou et préfèrent pas partir vous pouvez venir chez nous.,contactez moi. #PorteOuverte #fusillade #paris
"If people are near Corentin Cariou and prefer not to leave, you can come to our house. Contact me."
#PorteOuverte sur l'avenue de la République entre Oberkampf et Parmentier
"On avenue République between Oberkampf and Parmentier."
#porteouverte vers Belleville/Pyrénées si besoin.
"Toward Belleville/Pyrénées if needed."
The hashtag also spread to Facebook, where Parisians offered their homes as shelter.
"Here, everything is fine, we’re safe. If you are in the 11th and looking to get your ass in a safe place, you are welcome in my home. #PorteOuverte #PrayForParis"
The hashtag had been tweeted out tens of thousands of times on Friday, although many reminded the public to only use it if the shelter offers were in or near Paris.
Reminder: please do not tweet using the Porte Ouverte hashtag unless you are actually in or near Paris offering shelter.
The man who who started the hashtag, Sylvain Lapoix, explained his reasoning to BuzzFeed France:
I thought about it and I thought it lacked a rallying point. I first thought about geolocation, then the hashtag.
I do not know if it could help people or how, but I thought it might be useful and it's been good to see that people are proposing is positive. This shows that there is solidarity and that we can let the police act without remaining passive.