A video of a father telling his son that "flowers can fight against guns" while talking about France's worst terrorist attacks has become one of the most watched clips on the Internet.

The 1min 18sec clip, which was filmed by French newspaper Le Petit Journal near one of the makeshift memorials to the 129 victims of last Friday's terrorist attacks, begins with the paper's reporter asking the boy: "Do you understand what happened? Do you understand why those people did that?"

The boy replied: "Yes, because they're really, really, really mean... Bad guys are not very nice."

He added: "And... we have to be really careful because we have to change houses."

His father patted him on the head and said: "Don't worry, we won't have to move. France is our home."

Confused, the boy looked at him: "But there're bad guys, daddy..."

The father said: "But there are bad guys everywhere. They might have guns, but we have flowers."

"But flowers don't do anything," the boy argued.

The man gestured at the memorial next to them and said: "Of course they do. Look, everyone is putting flowers. It's to fight against guns."

The boy looked around him. "It's to protect?" he asked.

"Exactly," his dad responded with a smile.

The reporter then asked the boy if he felt better.

"Yes, I feel better," the child said.

The clip has been watched at least 16 million times on Le Petit Journal's Facebook page and on YouTube since it was put online on Tuesday.

Some 30,000 people have commented on the moving exchange between the father and son on Le Petit Journal's wall. Many said the man's words gave them hope.

A man by the name of Angel Le identified himself as the father and thanked everyone for their support.

"I am proud to be French and proud of my compatriots!" he said.

"My family and I embrace all of you," he added.