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60 dead after truck hits Bastille Day crowd in Nice, French officials say – live updates Nice attack: arms found in truck that hit Bastille Day crowd killing 60 people, French officials say – live updates
(35 minutes later)
12.59am BST
00:59
Angelique Chrisafis
A French parliamentary investigation into last year’s terrorist attacks on Paris last week identified multiple failings by France’s intelligence agencies.
The parliamentary commission was set up to assess the failure to prevent a series of attacks that killed a total of 147 people in 2015 – from January’s gun attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices and a kosher grocery store to the coordinated gun and bomb attacks on 13 November outside the national sports stadium, at bars and restaurants and at a rock gig at the Bataclan concert hall.
The commission highlighted a “global failure” of French intelligence and recommended a total overhaul of the intelligence services and the creation of a single, US-style national counter-terrorism agency.
“Our country was not ready; now we must get ready,” said Georges Fenech, head of the commission.
France has six intelligence units answering variously to the interior, defence and economy ministries.
Fenech said the multi-layered, cumbersome intelligence apparatus was like an army of soldiers wearing lead boots.
The French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve this week rejected the idea of a total overhaul of intelligence services. He said some of the report’s other recommendations were already being put in place.
12.53am BST
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12.49am BST
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Anti-terrorism police take over the investigation
A spokesman for the interior ministry confirms that – contrary to some reports – no hostages were taken.
“There is no hostage-taking,” interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told AFP, denying dozens of rumours following the incident.
“An individual drove a truck into the crowd. He was killed by police,” he said.
“Investigations are currently under way to establish if the individual acted alone or if he had accomplices who might have fled,” Brandet said.
Anti-terrorism investigators have taken over the investigation, prosecutors said.
Updated
at 12.57am BST
12.45am BST
00:45
The date of the attack — France’s national day of celebration — was seen as symbolic only eight months after 130 people were killed in November’s coordinated Paris attacks on a stadium, bars and a rock-gig at the Bataclan.
Bastille Day, the most important holiday in France and the equivalent to the 4th of July in the US, marks the day a mob stormed a fortress known for holding political prisoners on July 14, 1789.At the time, France was in economic and political crisis. Taxes were high and food was scarce. There was widespread anger and resentment towards Louis XVI and the increasing militarisation of France.
12.35am BST
00:35
Some of the front pages from French and British newspapers:
Tomorrows Le Parisien front page pic.twitter.com/ASvbfkPsQO
Updated Times front page:Dozens of revellers dead in Bastille Day massacre#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers #Nice pic.twitter.com/AE6hxQ8F7H
Updated Telegraph front page:Dozens killed as terror strikes French Riviera#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers #Nice pic.twitter.com/rJK1IOylyo
12.32am BST
00:32
Saeed Kamali Dehghan
Two weeks ago before the Nice attack, the authorities in France had announced that they were beefing up security measures for the holiday season by deploying armed police patrols on the beaches.
Officers belonging to the CRS riot police force, who have previously been equipped with batons and handcuffs, were allowed to wear special holsters carrying weapons for the first time. Bulletproof vests were also to be put at their disposal.
The move came two weeks after an unarmed French police chief and his partner were killed in a stabbing in front of their house outside Paris. Isis claimed responsibility for the attack, which has sparked a debate in France about whether the forces should carry weapons outside working hours. France remains in a state of emergency following November’s deadly attacks, which left 130 dead. Read more here:
Related: Armed police to patrol French beaches amid terrorism fears
Updated
at 12.55am BST
12.29am BST
00:29
Emergency numbers
The central hospital in Nice has released a number for families of the victims.
Le Planc Blanc a été déclenché, le numéro de téléphone pour les familles :04 93 72 22 22
Other countries have set up their own emergency lines.
The Irish Embassy in Paris has asked anyone who needs assistance in #Nice to contact them at +33 (0)144176700
DFAT release re the ongoing incident in Nice, France pic.twitter.com/7hbsVq55h1
12.21am BST12.21am BST
00:2100:21
Truck was loaded with arms Truck was loaded with weapons
Christian Estrosi, president of the region, says the truck in Nice was loaded with arms and grenades, according to AP. Christian Estrosi, president of the region, says the truck in Nice was loaded with weapons and grenades, according to AP.
Estrosi told BFM TV: “The driver fired on the crowd, according to the police who killed him.”
He said the truck had been driven by someone who appeared to have “completely premeditated behaviour”.
He added that “the truck was loaded with arms, loaded with grenades”.
Updated
at 12.34am BST
12.20am BST12.20am BST
00:2000:20
Le Figaro reports that, according to the interior ministry, investigators are currently looking for potential accomplice but confirms that there was no hostage taking.Le Figaro reports that, according to the interior ministry, investigators are currently looking for potential accomplice but confirms that there was no hostage taking.
Updated
at 12.33am BST
12.18am BST12.18am BST
00:1800:18
Donald Trump delays announcing running mate due to Nice attackDonald Trump delays announcing running mate due to Nice attack
In light of the horrible attack in Nice, France, I have postponed tomorrow's news conference concerning my Vice Presidential announcement.In light of the horrible attack in Nice, France, I have postponed tomorrow's news conference concerning my Vice Presidential announcement.
12.11am BST12.11am BST
00:1100:11
Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, has voiced his solidarity with the residents of Nice.Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, has voiced his solidarity with the residents of Nice.
Emotion profonde et tristesse infinie face à l'attaque à #Nice06. Solidarité à l'égard des #Niçois et des habitants des Alpes-Maritimes.Emotion profonde et tristesse infinie face à l'attaque à #Nice06. Solidarité à l'égard des #Niçois et des habitants des Alpes-Maritimes.
Updated
at 12.33am BST
12.04am BST12.04am BST
00:0400:04
Death toll rises to 73 – reportsDeath toll rises to 73 – reports
France’s Itele TV channel is quoting an unnamed police source who says the death toll is now 73. France’s I-Télé TV channel is quoting an unnamed police source who says the death toll is now 73.
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Driver of the lorry is dead
The interior ministry has confirmed that the driver of the truck, which ploughed through crowds on the Nice promenade, has been neutralised.
.@PHBrandet (porte-parole) : l'individu qui conduisait le camion a été neutralisé. L'enquête déterminera s'il a agi seul #Nice
UpdatedUpdated
at 12.15am BST at 12.32am BST
11.57pm BST
23:57
Francois Hollande heads to crisis centre
The French president is heading to the interior ministry’s crisis centre, Reuters reports.
The French presidency said on its Twitter feed that the government had activated the inter-ministerial crisis centre following the incident in Nice.
11.56pm BST
23:56
Saeed Kamali Dehghan
Maryam Violet, an Iranian journalist visiting Nice on holiday, told the Guardian that she saw the lorry running over people as they walked in the pedestrian area after the fireworks had finished.
“Everyone was completely shocked, I saw that suddenly people were fleeing and shouting,” she said over the phone from Nice.
“People were shouting ‘It’s a terrorist attack, it’s a terrorist attack’, it was clear that the driver was doing it deliberately,” she said.
“I was walking for nearly a mile and that there were dead bodies over the place. I think over 30 dead bodies are on the ground and lots of people are injured.”
The bodies had been covered by blue sheets.
“I saw two sisters and one brother from Poland that were mourning the death of their two other siblings,” she told the Guardian.
“The youngest one was crying and the other two just didn’t know how to react.
“There were so many Muslim people who were victims because I could see they had scarves over their head and some were speaking Arabic. One family lost a mother and in Arabic they were saying she’s a martyr,” she said.
“People were celebrating and it was so peaceful, it was a festivity vibe, it was right after the fireworks that the truck came and ran over people.”
Updated
at 12.00am BST
11.52pm BST
23:52
Donald Trump has been quick to deliver his take.
Another horrific attack, this time in Nice, France. Many dead and injured. When will we learn? It is only getting worse.
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23:51
Bonnie Malkin here, taking over the blog from Kevin.
Tony Molina, a witness to the attack, has told CNN that he watched the chaos unfold from his hotel room on the promenade.
“There was still a crowd of people and then you just see this big white panel truck, I couldn’t see the driver, but it just kept going at different angles from left to right at 25 to 30 miles and hour,” he said.
“People were screaming and running. There are still people I am looking at right now that are near their deceased family members.
“I work in homicide and I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s unbelievable.”
11.41pm BST
23:41
The US president Barack Obama has been appraised of the situation and will be updated as appropriate, the White House says.
11.39pm BST
23:39
Nice prosecutor's office says 60 feared dead
The Nice prosecutor’s office is being quoted by the i-Télé TV channel that 60 people are now feared dead.
Updated
at 11.42pm BST
11.28pm BST
23:28
A witness has told the Associated Press that he saw the truck driver emerge from the vehicle with a gun and start shooting after ploughing into the crowd.
Wassim Bouhlel, a Nice native who spoke to the agency near the city’s Promenade du Paillon, said: “There was carnage on the road. Bodies everywhere.”
Updated
at 11.30pm BST
11.25pm BST
23:25
Sebastien Humbert, the prefect for the Alpes-Maritime area has told BFM TV: “A truck rammed into the crowd over a long distance, which explains this extremely heavy toll.” According to Reuters, Humbert said the truck driver had been shot dead and that he was treating the incident as an attack at present.
Updated
at 11.30pm BST
11.23pm BST
23:23
The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has tweeted: “On behalf of all Parisians, all of our fraternal support [goes] to the people of Nice. Our cities are united.”
Au nom des Parisiens, tout notre soutien le plus fraternel au peuple niçois. Nos villes sont unies.
Updated
at 11.30pm BST