How Australian personal trainer Djanaya, 31, escaped a ‘trafficking’ plot in Paris after an encounter with an attractive man sparked a harrowing chase across the city: ‘Women need to know the signs’

Djanaya was sitting under the Eiffel Tower, watching the final sunset of her twenties, when, she says, an attractive stranger approached and casually invited her to a party. 

The personal trainer from Perth was in Paris to mark her 30th birthday – a solo trip so she could reflect on her life, and the busy landmark chosen deliberately so she felt safe among crowds. 

Couples lounged on picnic blankets, tourists filled the lawns and souvenir sellers mingled; nothing seemed unusual. 

She claims the man appeared by her side, friendly but speaking limited English. He asked where she was from, her age and if she was travelling alone, then invited her to a party with his friend.

Djanaya politely declined – and, thinking on her feet, told him she had a friend waiting back at the hotel.

What followed left her convinced she had narrowly escaped an abduction attempt: the men photographed her against her wishes, tailed her onto the Paris Metro with a bigger group and tried to block her leaving the train. 

‘I felt my whole body go into fight-or-flight mode,’ Djanaya, now 31, told the Daily Mail.

She eventually managed a lucky escape with help from another stranger. The next day, she sought advice from the Australian Embassy and left France immediately. 

The experience changed how the once fearless traveller now moves through the world. 

‘I don’t think I’ll ever go back to Europe by myself. I used to think most people had good intentions. Now, even when I’m doing something ordinary, I’m much more aware of who is around me.’

‘Just like the movie Taken’ 

Originally from Melbourne, Djanaya had travelled alone extensively before Paris in May 2025. 

Each birthday, she picked a destination from her bucket list, spending a week exploring – a tradition that had already taken her to Turkey, New Zealand, Greece, and the Bahamas. 

She felt confident navigating new places, and believed pickpockets and theft were her main risks in Paris. So, she planned to stay in busy areas, book group activities and avoid isolated spots. 

‘The night before my birthday every year, I like to watch the sunset because it’s the final sunset of me being that age,’ she said.

The late sunset meant she was outside longer than usual. Though staying in one spot made her more noticeable, the crowd made her feel at ease. 

Two men settled nearby; one caught her eye and smiled, so she smiled back.

Eventually he approached, spoke French, then switched to English. He asked familiar questions – her origin, purpose, if she was alone. She said she was from Australia and celebrating her birthday, but claimed a friend was waiting for her at their apartment. 

He pressed further, asking about her relationship status, then suggested she join him at a party. Djanaya said she didn’t drink and politely declined, but he insisted she could come and ‘just meet people’. 

‘That was when my mind went straight to the movie Taken. It sounded exactly like the kind of invitation the girls receive and it immediately felt like a major red flag,’ she said.

She declined again, but made a mistake: when asked, she gave him her Instagram handle. 

‘I felt so stupid afterwards,’ she said.

He then suggested a photo together under the Eiffel Tower. Djanaya refused, but the man grabbed her arms and lifted her as his friend took pictures. 

‘I put my hand over my face and kept saying no. They were trying to photograph me even after I made it clear I did not want them to,’ she said.

Shaken, she prepared to leave, but the men claimed they were going as well. She waited, rather than reveal the direction she was travelling in. 

She then saw the pair approach a souvenir seller, hand him money and point at her. 

‘My heart just sank. I couldn’t understand why they were pointing at me or why they were giving him money. My body was telling me I needed to get out of there.’

When they disappeared, Djanaya immediately called her friend back home, describing everything and still hoping she was overreacting. 

‘I kept thinking it had to be in my head. They had left, so I thought surely I was okay,’ she said.

She skipped her plan to watch the Eiffel Tower lights and circled the area, entering several restaurants and cafés. In one, she told a staff member she feared being followed; he offered her a table and let her stay as long as needed. After 25 minutes, she headed to the Metro. 

On the train, only one passenger sat ahead, facing away. She felt relieved – until, seconds before departure, the two men boarded, joined by five other men and two women.

‘One of the friends walked past me, pointed and indicated that I was the woman they had been looking for.’

The man who’d spoken to her earlier now pretended not to know her. 

‘He had wanted to know everything about me before, and suddenly he was sitting there pretending he didn’t know me. That was when I knew something was really wrong,’ she said.

She claims a woman from the group sat directly opposite, blocking her exit. Djanaya called her friend again, who urged her not to return to her hotel station, but to leave at a busy stop where there may be police. 

Djanaya chose a station near Notre-Dame. As she stood to leave, the woman opposite lifted her leg, dragged Djanaya back down, and said: ‘You’re not going anywhere’. 

‘My friend was still on the phone, and she told me to push past her and run. I got off the train, but the entire group got off as well,’ Djanaya said.

The men and women spread across the platform, watching her. Djanaya sat with another passenger and asked for help, but they couldn’t speak English. She waited 40 minutes for police as she’d seen them there before. No one arrived.

Afraid to enter the station’s tunnels, she boarded another train and jumped off just before its doors closed to confuse the group. She later changed services, sitting with her back to the wall. A sleeping passenger woke; she asked for help, but he also spoke little English. 

Two of the group boarded again, one blocking her path, another mocking her. ‘I started bawling my eyes out. I was terrified, and my friend was still on the phone trying to work out what I could do.’

The sleeping passenger awoke and spoke Spanish. By chance, Djanaya’s friend – still on the phone – spoke Spanish, too, and translated. The stranger worked in security and offered to escort her to a bus stop, but Djanaya was unsure of who to trust. 

‘I was terrified that he might somehow be part of their group. At that point, though, he felt like my best option,’ she said.

She followed him from the train. He removed his jacket, wrapped it around her, and pulled her close, warning the group could grab her if given the chance. He walked her to a bus stop; Djanaya insisted on calling an Uber. 

Though he warned rideshares rarely collect passengers from the area, he stayed until the car arrived. 

The Uber driver spoke fluent English; Djanaya, through tears, recounted her ordeal. 

‘He told me I was lucky to get away. He said if I had travelled any further along the line, the stations would have become much quieter and I could have ended up alone.’

She asked to be dropped several stops from her accommodation to keep her address private, sprinted the rest of the way, locked herself in, and lay awake most of the night. 

The next morning, Djanaya could barely leave her flat. She told her private Instagram group, and a friend urged her to seek help from the Australian Embassy. She wrapped her face in a scarf and made the journey. 

‘I was petrified to walk outside. But when I reached the embassy, I felt so safe that I didn’t want to leave,’ she said.

She provided ID and recounted the incident, claiming an employee warned groups in Paris sometimes photograph tourists after initiating conversation and advised her to leave the city at once. 

According to Djanaya, the staff believed her safety was at risk and helped her arrange the earliest flight home. 

In a statement, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesperson confirmed they provided consular assistance to an Australian in France. 

‘I couldn’t believe any of it was real. It felt like a bad dream,’ she said.

Djanaya had four days left in her holiday but flew home the next day. She considered reporting the incident to police, but found the station closed. 

Solo travel: Promise and peril 

Her ordeal unfolded as international travel rebounded post-pandemic, and solo travel – especially by young women – became increasingly popular for its promise of freedom. 

Djanaya loved picking destinations, booking tickets, and going – there was no waiting on friends’ schedules or interests. Most solo trips end safely; her experience doesn’t mean Paris is inherently dangerous. 

However, Australian travel advice notes serious crime does occur, and pickpocketing, muggings and organised theft are common around major sites and public transport.

The Eiffel Tower precinct and Metro lines require particular vigilance. 

Younger Australians are often the most adventurous, but government research shows they’re less likely to get insurance, check formal advice or take precautions. 

Djanaya believes Australians are particularly vulnerable because everyday friendliness is seen as harmless. 

‘We can be pretty naive. We trust people and assume they have good intentions,’ she said.

Safety tips to remember 

Djanaya believes calling her friend immediately was key. She tried to photograph the men, avoided returning directly home and stayed in busy venues while checking if she was followed.

Travellers fearing they’re being followed should head for staffed, public locations and contact local authorities – not try to handle things solo. 

Sharing live location data with a trusted person, keeping accommodation private and avoiding real-time social media posts can reduce risk. 

Djanaya now avoids giving precise details about where she lives, works, or stays – she might say ‘up north’ rather than name a suburb, and never says she is travelling alone. 

‘I’m still chatty, and I don’t want to be rude when people say hello,’ she said.

But safety should never be compromised for politeness. Travellers do not owe strangers their Instagram, a photo, nor an explanation for declining invitations. 

A year later: Lasting impact 

Back in Australia, Djanaya confided in close friends and family but tried to push the memory aside. 

‘I was back in Australia and I was safe. I didn’t want to think about it, I just wanted to forget,’ she said.

The experience resurfaced after a colleague, a mum, suggested sharing her story could help others recognise warning signs. 

A year on, the incident still affects her. She went to the US with friends, but the confidence she once had for solo trips is gone. 

‘I don’t think I’ll ever go back to Europe alone. Even thinking about future travel, I don’t know anymore,’ she said.

Her greatest loss is the trust she once carried. She now watches people closely, avoids leaving her car unlocked and shares less online. 

‘The experience changed my behaviour like crazy. I went from being so naive to thinking anybody could have bad intentions, and that is really sad,’ she said.

‘We live in such a beautiful place in Australia, and not being able to trust people in the same way anymore is heartbreaking.’

She doesn’t want her story to scare women from travelling, but hopes it encourages preparation and prioritising safety. 

‘Solo travel can seem so harmless because you want to meet people and have experiences,’ she said.

‘If I hadn’t recognised the signs, I might have agreed to the photo or gone to the party. You have to be so careful. Don’t tell strangers where you are staying, don’t let anyone follow you home and make sure somebody always knows where you are.

‘You always think something like this will happen to someone else, until suddenly it is happening to you.’