Australian avoids Paris attacks after last minute decision to miss concert

An Australian tourist in Paris has avoided the massacre at Bataclan theatre thanks to his "flaky" mates who could not get to the nation's capital in time for the concert.

Freelance journalist Chris Binns had tried to organise a night out to see the Eagles of Death Metal gig at Bataclan on Friday night, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

But when his friends could not get to Paris in time for the show, he called it off and stayed home for the night at a rented apartment in Montparnasse.

"It pays to have flaky mates occasionally," he said.

"It wasn't like we had bought tickets and missed a bus there, but it was very much on our radar."

The theatre was the setting of the most deadly of the Paris attacks, with at least 118 people killed by masked gunmen.

Those who managed to escape reported the attackers had lobbed grenades into the crowd and shot hostages one-by-one.

The siege ended when police stormed the building.

Mr Binns took to Twitter after the attacks to assure family and friends he was unharmed.

"Very scary night in Paris. I'm a long way from the action and feel relatively safe. World's gone crazy," he said.