MORE than 80 people were killed and hundreds injured when a large truck slammed into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, the capital of the French Riviera, on Thursday night.
The truck driver rammed into a packed promenade and fired into the crowd before being fatally shot by the police, said officials. Weapons were also found in the truck, suggesting a planned attack.
While no group has claimed responsibility of the latest assualt, French president Francois Hollande said the “terrorist nature” of the Nice attack was “undeniable. The French leader has also declared the extension of the state of emergency, which was due to end on July 26, by another three months.
Nice has announced the cancellation of the Rihanna concert planned for Friday evening as well as the city’s jazz festival, due to start on Saturday, after the deadly truck attack.
The latest in a string of terrorist attacks that have struck Europe, this grim death toll arising from this deadly assault has jolted France, which has already been in tetherhooks since the Charlie Hebdo and Paris attacks in the last 18 months.
These attacks have impacted France’s tourism sector, as flight bookings plummented after longhaul visitors visitors shunned Paris.
