After the joyous chatter and the explosion of the beautiful fireworks display over the coast of the French Riviera, screams and cries of people echoed along the street.
The July 14 celebration was immediately replaced with mourning, with at least 75 people dead and a hundred people injured as a truck plowed through the crowd walking along Boulevard des Anglais in Nice, France. The attack was described as carnage, with bodies lying around the streets and the beach.
Reports from foreign media outlets such as CNN and the New York Times said that the incident was not an accident, rather, the truck driver intentionally went on a rampage by driving into the large crowd walking along the street after watching the fireworks commemorating the French national holiday.
The Nice truck attack happened just eight months after the deadly Paris terrorist attacks, and just hours after French president François Hollande announced that the state of emergency imposed will be lifted on July 26.
The driver of the truck was shot dead by police responding to the scene and according to a report by the international news wire Agence France-Presse (AFP), the driver was a French-Tunisian citizen and a resident of Nice.
Hollande, who was in the Southern France at the time of the attack, immediately flew back to Paris to the national emergency headquarters to discuss the tragic incident.
Regional daily newspaper Nice-Matin on their Twitter account quoted Hollande saying “La France est affligée mais elle est forte (France is afflicted but she is strong)” during the press conference after the attack.
Hollande told reporters that the attack does not stop France’s fight against terrorism. Also according to Hollande, a defense council meeting will be made on July 15 to discuss the defense measures that were and were not taken. The state of emergency declared over France will also be extended for 3 months.
(Photo source: @Nice_Matin)