France is preparing for the first anniversary of the Paris attacks this weekend.

A year ago on Sunday, three men stormed the Bataclan theatre and killed 89 people at a concert. In a series of coordinated attacks across the city another 41 people also lost their lives, while over 350 were injured.

Sting will be the first artist to play at the Bataclan venue on November 12th, the eve of the anniversary of the attacks. Tickets for the concert at the venue sold out within an hour, and there are a number of other events planned throughout the city over the weekend.

On Saturday, the President François Hollande and the Prime Minister Manuel Valls will be paying tribute to the victims of the attacks with a number of those who were injured and their families. 

Speaking ahead of the commemorations, French Ambassador to Ireland Jean Pierre Thebault told Newstalk Breakfast that they will be visiting the places where the attacks took place to pay their respects to those who lost their lives.

"It will be a very dignified ceremony, a very important moment for the people [...] it will also be a message that our society is resilient, but we our resilient without forgetting. Without forgetting what is the core message, which is that what was at stake in Paris was our freedom, and that wherever there are attacks, we must defend out freedom."

Ambassador Thebault also stated that France had become a different place since the attacks, but that the problem was one that would require action on a global scale. 

"Before and after this attack, there have been many attacks not only in Europe [...] but also all over the world, Terrorism is a global threat now, so it's not only for the French people, it is for also the whole world to adapt to terrorism and to find solutions.

"Those solutions, we must find them at home, but we must find them also in collective action worldwide," he added.

"Probably France now is a more serious country, a more concerned country than it used to be. I am proud of the people of France they collectively have coped, they collectively have found solutions and answers and you will see this during the commemorations which will be taking place in Paris, in particular, this Sunday. It will be the sign of a reunited people."