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Nice attack: France mourns after 84 killed in Bastille Day atrocity – live
Nice attack: France mourns after 84 killed in Bastille Day atrocity – latest news
(35 minutes later)
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Holly Watt
Jason Burke
A label on the side of the truck suggests it was hired from Via Location.
The use of a truck as a weapon is new, writes Jason Burke.
A spokeswoman for the company said she could not discuss the matter, citing an instruction from the interior ministry.
French authorities – like counterparts around the world – have learned that the most lethal attacks in their country have been perpetrated by individuals or networks with connections to outside organisations.
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Mohamed Merah, who killed seven in a shooting spree in 2012, was initially described as a lone wolf but found to be connected to a breakaway al-Qaida faction. Those who attacked Charlie Hebdo magazine last year had a tenuous link to al-Qaida in Yemen. The more recent strikes, including those in November last year and in Belgium in March, involved a well-established network linked to Isis.
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Even now, amid the terrible grief and chaos of the aftermath of this latest tragedy, security services in France, around Europe and beyond will have the clinical work of tracing out the killer’s background and connections well under way.
The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, and interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, have arrived in Nice. They are about to greet President Françoise Hollande at the airport.
Related: France attack: use of truck in Nice demonstrates evolving nature of threat
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Mark Tran
AFP has spoken to several neighbours of the suspected driver. They describe him as solitary and quiet, who always took his bike up to his apartment.
One neighbour said he did not seem to be a religious person and often wore shorts. A family in the four-story building said he never returned their greetings.
One woman on the ground floor was suspicious of him because of the way he stared at her two daughters. Police were searching the man’s apartment.
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Theresa May has said Britain stands “shoulder to shoulder” with France.
Germany has joined Italy in tightening its borders with France.
She also insisted Britain must redouble its efforts to defeat “brutal” terrorist murderers.
Germany’s federal police said: “In coordination with the French security authorities the federal police are strengthening their control in the area of cross-border traffic into France.”
She could not confirm Boris Johnson’s report that a British citizen was among the injured.
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Britain's emergency committee to meet
Britain’s prime minister, Theresa May, has said Britain must redouble its efforts to defeat “brutal” terrorist “murderers” after the “horrifying” attack in Nice.
She also called a meeting of senior officials in the government’s emergency Cobra committee.
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Rachel Obordo
Rachel Obordo
People who were on the promenade last night have been getting in touch with us.
Fifty-eight-year-old Tim Baker is just one of many donating blood to help the victims of yesterday’s attack. “By the time the EFS’ (the French National Blood Service) Nice office opened at 9.30am this morning, there were already over a hundred people queuing,” he said.
Maciej is studying French in Nice. He said: “I watched the fireworks with a friend and right after they ended, we went to a nearby store to get something to drink. As we were heading back to enjoy our drinks on the beach, which is located just below the boulevard, we were slowed by the crowd of people leaving the area. Suddenly, just a few feet in front of us, we saw the big white truck driving at a high speed on the sidewalk still thick with spectators.
“There were nearly 400 by the time it was announced that blood supplies for all the victims were assured for the short term. With so many trying to donate we were asked to return in the coming weeks.”
“We could hear the sound of the truck hitting people, like empty thuds ... people started to run away in panic … As I was walking to my residence, I saw people in the streets sobbing, some of them on their phones with despair in their voices, some of them being led by others … I am enrolled in a language course here in Nice and the staff were going door-to-door this morning to account for the people who start their classes in the afternoon today.”
A dual Australian and French citizen, Baker used to run the consular services section at the Australian embassy in Paris before moving to Beaulieu-sur-Mer, just outside Nice. “I’ve been waiting for over two hours and I think I might have another 45 minutes more to wait. My son spent last night checking on the welfare of his friends. All but two have been accounted for thus far.
While at a bar in the Old Town, Anne Morris said she saw people fleeing from the promenade. “Hundreds of people were running past the bar,” she said. “We had no 3G/4G access so no one knew what had happened. The bar closed and we took the back streets home as we had been told to avoid the promenade. I got my first text en route telling me what had happened. Terribly sad today.”
“For anyone asking what a typical blood donor looks like in Nice, they just need to look at those walking along the streets of this diverse port city. Every age group, income level and race is present. If France is to combat both terrorism and the calls of the extreme right, it will need to rely on the diversity and solidarity of its citizens.”
Chris, from Edinburgh, is on her way home with her partner after being on holiday in Nice since Monday. They were watching the fireworks last night before heading into the Old Town. “We decided to get ice cream,” she said. “Everything seemed fine although with hindsight it seemed a bit odd that there were cars trying to desperately get through the crowds. There was one car beeping at everyone telling them to move – we just thought the driver was being rude.
“Suddenly we saw hundreds of people running. Some on their phones, some screaming, all coming from the direction of the sea. It was mass panic and it was horrifying and no one seemed to know what was happening, they just ran.”
If you are in Nice you can share your witness accounts, photos and videos or news tips direct with our journalists by clicking on the ‘Contribute’ button in the live blog.
If you are in Nice you can share your witness accounts, photos and videos or news tips direct with our journalists by clicking on the ‘Contribute’ button in the live blog.
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Please think about your security first though when recording and sharing your content.
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Angelique Chrisafis
The Guardian has horrific mobile phone footage of the attack.
Angelique Chrisafis has just filed this from Nice:
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From a backstreet behind Nice’s palm-fringed seafront promenade, the large white goods lorry which had been rammed into the crowd to kill 84 people during the attack on the Bastille day fireworks display was visible from a distance, as police cordoned off the scene.
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The cab with its windscreen pockmarked with bullet-holes and its front buckled from the crash impact still sat cordoned off at the side of the road as police in the morning heat continued to work at the scene of the carnage.
French president François Hollande has arrived in Nice where he is about to hold a meeting with security officials. The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, and interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve are also at the meeting.
On the street, Piero Bianculli, 37, an Italian musician who grew up in Nice, had been at his step-father’s apartment on the beach-front watching the fireworks display from the balcony when the lorry hit.
“When had been invited over to watch the fireworks because he had such a beautiful view of the sea,” Bianculli said.
“Suddenly we saw people in the street running and screaming, we thought it was a false alarm or some sort of joke, but when I looked to the right I saw bodies flying in the air, and people thrown to the ground who didn’t get up. I took my binoculars and looked all the way up the Promenade, and saw dead bodies lying scattered where they had fallen, bleeding. There was blood streaming across the street. Police began running to the scene and we heard gun shots. I saw the first news reports saying there were 10 to 15 dead and I knew that I had counted many, many more bodies than that.”
He said: “We pushed our ten-year-old son inside off the balcony, afraid there could be stray shots. If we hadn’t been invited to watch the fireworks from the balcony, we would have no doubt been on the seafront ourselves with family and children. It feels shocking and very, very sad.”
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France’s ambassador to London, Sylvie Bermann has just given a press conference on the steps of the French embassy.
“All our thoughts are with the victims and the families of the victims,” she said.
She thanked the UK government for its messages of solidarity and pointed out that the new foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, was at the embassy yesterday to celebrate Bastille day.
“The 14th of July is a very symbolic day. It is a symbol of liberté, egalité and fraternité. And I think that is what terrorists want to fight.”
She gave a telephone number for British people concerned about loved ones in Nice, as: 00 33 43 17 56 46.
Bermann added: “France is a strong country, it is resilient country, it is united country. We are determined to fight against terrorism. And we will be strong than terrorists.”
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French prosecutors are due to hold a press conference at 5pm local time.
Ian Black
#Nice Le procureur de Paris François Molins tiendra une conférence de presse à Nice à 17H00 (parquet) #AFP
The Nice attacks have been condemned, by religious and political leaders across the Muslim and Arab world on Arabic-language and English social media.
Egypt’s Grand Mufti lambasted “saboteurs who follow Satan (who will) be damned in this life & in the hereafter.”
Similar sentiments were expressed by the popular Saudi cleric, Sheikh Salman al-Auda, who said the killer would be cursed by “god, his angels and all human beings.” His remarks came after many comments on social media attacked Muslims.
Egypt’s Al-Azhar university, Sunni Islam’s leading centre of learning, said that the “vile terrorist attack” contradicted Islam and called for “uniting efforts to defeat terrorism and rid the world of its evil.”
Tunisia said that the attacker, who police said held joint French-Tunisian citizenship, had committed an act of “extreme cowardice” and expressed solidarity with France against the “scourge of terrorism”.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours issued a joint statement saying that they “strongly” condemned the “terrorist” act in Nice. “The Gulf Cooperation Council states stand in solidarity with the French republic following this cowardly criminal incident whose perpetrators have been stripped of all moral and human values,” the bloc’s secretary general, Abdullatif al-Zayani, said.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi condemned “in the strongest terms the vile terrorist attack”, his office said.
Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit denounced the “craven terrorist attack”, according to his spokesman.
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Here’s the full text of Theresa May’s statement:
“I am shocked and saddened by the horrifying attack in Nice last night. Our hearts go out to the French people and to all those who’ve lost loved ones or been injured.
“While the full picture is still emerging, it seems that at least 80 people are feared dead and many others have been injured. These were innocent victims enjoying a national celebration with their friends and families.
“We are working urgently to establish whether any British nationals were caught up in the attack. Our ambassador is travelling to Nice today with consular staff and they will be doing all they can to help anyone affected
.“I have asked my deputy national security adviser to chair a Cobra meeting of senior officials, to review what we know and what we can do to help, and I will speak to President Hollande today and make clear that the United Kingdom stands shoulder to shoulder with France today, as we have done so often in the past.
“If, as we fear, this was a terrorist attack, then we must redouble our efforts to defeat these brutal murderers who want to destroy our way of life. We must work with France and our partners around the world to stand up for our values and for our freedom.”
I am shocked and saddened by the horrifying attack in Nice last night. Our hearts go out to the French people: https://t.co/xd0arcO72R
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Mark Tran
The Front National leader, Marine le Pen, has used the attack to score political points against the French government’s response to terrorism.
Nice had undertaken extensive preparations in case of a terror attack, an effort coordinated by the interior ministry, Le Monde reports.
Speaking to Le Figaro, she said:
A meeting took place on 5 February involving the local authorities of the Alpes-Maritimes department and the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve. That was in preparation for the Nice carnival, the third largest in the world, after Rio and Venice, and the four Euro 16 football matches scheduled for Nice.
“Nothing that we have proposed has been put in place. Considering the new nature of terrorism, which is now a terrorism of opportunity, that’s to say without hierarchical structure, the urgency is to attack the ideology on which this terrorism is based.
The carnival attended by about one million people posed the first big test. Around 400 local police and 1,400 members of the national security forces were deployed in the department. A simulation exercise took place on 8 March in readiness for the Euro 16 tournament. In case of a massive attack, the injured would be evacuated to hospitals in Cannes, Monaco as well as Nice and Marseille if needed.
“And in this space, nothing has been done, absolutely nothing – no reintroduction of double punishment, nor depriving people of nationality, nor the closure of Salafist mosques … nor the banning of certain organisations. In truth, we are not at war. For the moment, we are in a war of words.”
All contingencies were planned for, including a nuclear attack, radiological, bacterological and chemical, bacteriological and chemical attack, François-Xavier Lauch, the sub-prefect of Alpes-Maritimes told Le Monde at the time. Particular attention was given to the possibility of an attack from the sea, which was the case in the assault against hotels in Bombay.
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Peter Beaumont
A massive police operation is under way to establish whether a 31-year-old French citizen of Tunisian origin acted alone or with accomplices in his attack on Bastille Day celebrations in Nice.
According to police sources and French media reports, the refrigerated truck used in the attack, which killed at least 84 people and injured hundreds more when it drove into crowds on the city’s Promenade des Anglais, was rented two days ago in nearby Saint-Laurent-du-Var.
The driver was shot dead in the truck after reportedly opening fire with a pistol on police who had surrounded the vehicle. Among items recovered from inside were an identity card, mobile phone and bank card, all linked to the driver.
He was formally identified by police on Friday morning as they launched a series of coordinated operations across the city.
The attacker, a 31-year-old Tunisian-born Frenchman who lived in Nice, was known to the police for common crimes – including violence – but not to the intelligence services, a police source said.
On Friday morning, police forensics officers were combing through the truck, which remained where it stopped, its front badly damaged and riddled with bullet holes, and its tyres burst.
Dramatic details emerged on Friday over how a member of the crowd celebrating Bastille Day on the seaside promenade had tried to stop the lorry just before the driver was shot dead.
“Someone in the crowd jumped on the lorry to try and stop it,” said Eroic Ciotti on Europe 1. “It was at that moment that the police were able to stop the terrorist. He had fired on the police without hitting them and on the person who tried to stop him.”
A witness called Nader told BFM television he had seen the whole attack from start to finish, and had initially thought the driver had lost control.
“He stopped just in front of me after he [crushed] a lot of people. I saw a guy in the street, we were trying to speak to the driver to get him to stop. He looked nervous. There was a girl under the car, he smashed her. The guy next to me pulled her out.”
Nader said he saw the driver pull out a gun and start shooting at police. “They killed him and his head was out the window.”
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London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, has announced he will be reviewing safety measures in the UK capital following the attack in Nice, the Press Association reports.
Holly Watt
He declared that London would “stand united” with France and insisted the “poisonous and twisted” terrorists would be defeated.
A label on the side of the truck suggests it was hired from Via Location.
Speaking on a visit to Gatwick airport, Khan said: “I will reassure all Londoners that today we will be reviewing our own safety measures in light of this attack and that I and the Metropolitan police commissioner will do everything possible to keep Londoners safe.”
An employee for the company said she could not discuss the matter, citing an instruction from the interior ministry.
“We can give you no information,” she said. “The ministry of the interior has barred us … asked us not to give any information on the vehicle or the driver. So I am sorry, but I can’t answer your questions.”
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Nice-Matin is reporting that police are carrying out a raid on the home of the driver in the Abattoirs area of Nice.
The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, and interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, have arrived in Nice. They are about to greet President François Hollande at the airport.
Une perquisition en cours au domicile du chauffeur dans le quartier des Abattoirs https://t.co/m0GJEUosT9 #AttentatNice
