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On the evening of 14 July 2016, a 19-tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds of people celebrating
Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...
on the
Promenade des Anglais The ''Promenade des Anglais'' (; Niçard: ''Camin dei Anglés''; meaning "English Walkway") is a promenade along the Mediterranean coast of Nice, France. It extends from the airport on the west to the Quai des États-Unis ("United States Qua ...
in
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
, France, resulting in the deaths of 86 people and the injury of 458 others. The driver was
Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel Mohamed Salmene Lahouaiej-Bouhlel (; ''Muḥammad Laḥwiyyij-Būhlāl''; 3 January 1985 – 14 July 2016) was a Tunisian terrorist living in France who carried out the 2016 Nice truck attack, in which he drove a truck into a crowd celebratin ...
, a Tunisian living in France. The attack ended following an exchange of gunfire, during which Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was shot and killed by police. The
Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
claimed responsibility for the attack, saying Lahouaiej-Bouhlel answered its "calls to target citizens of coalition nations that fight the Islamic State". On 15 July, François Molins, the prosecutor for the Public Ministry, which is overseeing the investigation, said the attack bore the hallmarks of
jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
. On 15 July, French President
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...
called the attack an act of
Islamic terrorism Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Incidents and fatalities f ...
, announced an extension of the
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
(which had been declared following the
November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...
) for a further three months, and announced an intensification of French airstrikes on ISIL in Syria and Iraq. France later extended the state of emergency until 26 January 2017. The French government declared three days of
national mourning A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of ...
starting on 16 July. Thousands of extra police and soldiers were deployed while the government called on citizens to join the reserve forces. On 21 July, prosecutor François Molins said that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel planned the attack for months and had help from
accomplice Under the English common law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even if they take no part in the actual criminal offense. For example, in a bank robbery, the person who points the gun at the teller ...
s. By 1 August, six suspects had been taken into custody on charges of "criminal terrorist
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
", three of whom were also charged for complicity in murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise. On 16 December three further suspects, allegedly involved in the supply of illegal weapons to Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, were charged. The attack has been classified as jihadist terrorism by Europol.


Background

On the morning before the attack,
French President The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...
said the national
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
, put in place after the
November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...
, would end after the
2016 Tour de France The 2016 Tour de France was the 103rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 2 July in Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, and concluding on 24 July with the Champs-Élysées sta ...
finished on 26 July 2016. France had just finished hosting the
Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
football tournament, during which the country had extensive security measures in place. Some matches were played in Nice, ending with the
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
match on 27 June. On the evening of 14 July in Nice, the
Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...
celebrations on the waterfront Promenade des Anglais, dubbed "Prom'Party" by the city of Nice, drew crowds of 30,000 and included an aerial display by the
French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...
. The Promenade des Anglais had been closed to traffic and, as in preceding years, a long section including the large hotels had been converted into a
pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
. The customary Bastille Day
fireworks display Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices in ...
took place between 22:00 and 22:20.


Attack

On 14 July in Nice, at approximately 22:30, just after the end of the Bastille Day fireworks display, a white 19 tonne
Renault Midlum The Renault Midlum is a range of trucks with a weight between 7.5 and 19 tonnes made by Renault Trucks for urban distribution and local services. The model was launched in 2000, and the range was revised in 2006 with new 5- and 7-litre engines. ...
cargo truck Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...
emerged from the Magnan quarter of Nice turning eastward on to the Promenade des Anglais, then closed to traffic, near the Fondation Lenval Children's Hospital. Travelling at close to and mounting onto the pavement as if out of control, it hit and killed numerous bystanders before passing the Centre Universitaire Méditerranéen, where it was first reported by municipal police. from the children's hospital, at the intersection with Boulevard Gambetta, the truck accelerated and mounted on to the
kerb A curb (North American English), or kerb (Commonwealth English except Canada; see spelling differences), is the edge where a raised sidewalk or road median/central reservation meets a street or other roadway. History Although curbs have ...
to force its way through the police barriers—a police car, a
crowd control barrier Crowd control barriers (also referred to as crowd control barricades, with some versions called a French barrier or bike rack in the USA, and mills barriers in Hong Kong) are commonly used at many public events. They are frequently visible at sp ...
and lane separators—marking the beginning of the pedestrianised zone. Having broken through the barrier, the truck, driving in a zigzag fashion, knocked down random members of the crowd milling about on the pavement and in the three traffic lanes on the seaward side of the Promenade. The driver tried to stay on the pavement—returning to the traffic lanes only when blocked by a bus shelter or pavilion—thus increasing the number of deaths. After reaching the
Hotel Negresco The Hotel Negresco is a hotel and site of the restaurant ''Le Chantecler'', located on the Promenade des Anglais on the Baie des Anges in Nice, France. It was named after Henri Negresco (1868–1920), who had the palatial hotel constructed in 1912 ...
, the progress of the truck, already travelling more slowly, was further slowed down by a passing cyclist, whose attempts to open the cabin door were abandoned after being threatened with a gun through the window. This was followed by a motorcyclist, in pursuit from the Centre Universitaire Méditerranéen, who threw his scooter under the front wheels of the truck at the intersection with rue Meyerbeer, mounted the truck and struck blows at the driver from the running board before being hit with the butt of the driver's gun, suffering moderate injuries as he fell off the truck's side. The driver fired several shots at police from his 7.65 mm firearm, close to the
Hotel Negresco The Hotel Negresco is a hotel and site of the restaurant ''Le Chantecler'', located on the Promenade des Anglais on the Baie des Anges in Nice, France. It was named after Henri Negresco (1868–1920), who had the palatial hotel constructed in 1912 ...
, as police arrived; they returned fire with their 9mm Sig Sauer handguns, gave chase to the vehicle and attempted to disable it. The truck travelled a further until, in a badly damaged state, it came to halt at 22:35 next to the
Palais de la Méditerranée Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Méditerranée is a nine-floor luxury casino hotel complex located on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France. It was built in 1929 by architects Charles and Marcel Dalmas, and partly rebuilt and modernized in 1990, ...
approximately five minutes after the start of the attack. There, two national police officers shot and killed the driver.


Immediate aftermath

Multiple bullet holes were seen in the windscreen and cab of the truck. The entire attack took place over a distance of , between numbers 11 and 147 of the Promenade des Anglais, resulting in the deaths of 86 people and creating high levels of panic in the crowds. Some were injured as a result of jumping onto the pebbled beach several metres below the Promenade. In addition to the firearm used during the attack, an ammunition magazine, a fake
Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and militar ...
pistol, a dummy
grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
, a replica
Kalashnikov rifle A Kalashnikov (Калашников) rifle is any one of a series of automatic rifles based on the original design of Mikhail Kalashnikov. They are officially known in Russian as "Avtomát Kaláshnikova" ( rus, Автома́т Кала́шник ...
, and a replica
M16 The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...
rifle were found in the cabin of the truck. Also recovered were a mobile phone and personal documents, including an identity card, a driver's licence, and credit cards. There were several
pallet A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a front loader, a jacking device, or an erect crane. A pallet is the structural foundat ...
s and a bicycle in the rear of the truck.


Perpetrator


Personal life

French police identified the perpetrator as Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old man of Tunisian nationality, born in
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
, with a French residency permit and living in Nice. His parents live in Tunisia and rarely heard from him since he moved to France in 2005. His father said Lahouaiej-Bouhlel underwent
psychiatric treatment Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psych ...
before he moved to France. He married a French-Tunisian
cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...
, living in Nice, with whom he had three children. According to his wife's lawyer, he was repeatedly reported for
domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
and the couple separated. After this separation, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had a wild sex life according to the prosecutor, and had engaged in sexual relations with both men and women, according to an unnamed source. He was known to French police for five prior criminal offences; notably for threatening behaviour, violence, and petty theft. Neighbours reported that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel rarely spoke to them. François Molins, the prosecutor leading the inquiry into the possible involvement of organised Islamist terrorism, announced on 18 July that information gathered since the attack suggested that, except for a short period leading up to the attack, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was "a young man completely uninvolved in religious issues and not a practising
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, who ate pork, drank alcohol, took drugs and had an unbridled sex life." Lahouaiej-Bouhlel sent small sums of money regularly to his family in Tunisia, according to his brother. However, days before the attack, in a surprising move, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel persuaded some friends to smuggle bundles of cash worth 100,000
euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s illegally to his family.


Motives

The investigation suggested that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel became radicalised shortly before the attack. Prosecutor Molins said that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had a "clear, recent interest in the radical
jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
movement". Newspapers reported, on the authority of investigators, that evidence found on Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's cellphone showed he may have been in contact with individuals in his neighborhood who were known to the
French intelligence agencies This is a list of current and former French intelligence agencies. Currently active *DGSE: Directorate-General for External Security – ''Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure''. It is the military foreign intelligence agency, whic ...
as Islamic radicals. However, an intelligence source cautioned that this "could just be a coincidence, given the neighbourhood where he lived. Everyone knows everyone there. He seems to have known people who knew Omar Diaby", a known local Islamist believed to be linked with
Al Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...
. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's computer showed he had carried out Internet searches on the topics "terrible fatal accidents", "horrible fatal accidents", and "shocking video, not for sensitive people" and consulted news articles on fatal accidents, including on 1 January 2016 an article'Strategisch, nicht spontan'
''
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...
'', 22 July 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016
or a photo from a local newspaper about a car crash with the caption: "He deliberately crashes onto the terrace of a restaurant". According to French authorities, friends of Lahouaiej-Bouhlel said he began attending a mosque in April 2016. Prosecutor Molins said Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had expressed admiration for
ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
to one of the now-interrogated suspects. A few months before the attack, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had shown friends an ISIL beheading video on his phone, and had said to one of the now-arrested suspects, "I'm used to seeing that". Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's computer contained photos of ISIL fighters and ISIL beheadings, of dead bodies, of
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
, Algerian jihadist
Mokhtar Belmokhtar Mokhtar Belmokhtar (; ar, مختار بلمختار;pronounced in Algerian Arabic as born 1 June 1972), also known as Khalid Abu al-Abbas, The One-Eyed, Nelson, and The Uncatchable, is an Algerian leader of the group Al-Murabitoun, former mil ...
, the
Islamic State flag The jihadist flag is a flag commonly used by various Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist movements as a symbol of jihad. It usually consists of a black background with a white text of the ''shahada'' (Islamic creed) emblazoned across it in call ...
, a cover of ''
Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; meaning ''Charlie Weekly'') is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as Anti-racism, anti-racist, sceptica ...
'', and images linked to radical Islamism. In the weeks before the attack, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel consulted many websites with treatises on
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
ic
Surah A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
s, sites with Islamic religious chants, and sites of ISIL propaganda. He also expressed extremist views, friends told the police. An uncle of Lahouaiej-Bouhlel in Tunisia said that his nephew had been indoctrinated about ten days before the attack by an
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
n ISIL member in Nice. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel grew a beard only eight days before the attack, which he told friends was for religious reasons. An eyewitness interviewed by the newspaper ''
Nice-Matin ''Nice-Matin'' ( French for "Nice-Morning") is a regional daily French newspaper. The paper covers Nice and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in south-eastern France. History and profile ''Nice-Matin'' was created in 1944. The paper was joi ...
'' recounted hearing, from his balcony, "''
Allahu Akbar Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
''" being shouted three times during the attack; similar claims were circulated on social media and in the press. Officials have not confirmed the shouting of "''Allahu Akbar''", while the BBC reported that the rumours about it on social media were "fake".


Preparations

Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
, found in the truck after he was shot by police, gave police information about his preparations. On 12 and 13 July 2016, Bouhlel returned several times to the Promenade des Anglais, the site of the attack, surveying the area in the rented truck. On 12 July, he took some selfies on the Promenade, as Molins confirmed on 18 July. Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's brother said he received images of Lahouaiej-Bouhlel laughing among the holiday crowds in Nice hours before the attack.


Victims

The attacker killed 84 people and injured 434, 52 critically; 25 remained on
life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...
the next day; an 85th person died from injuries three weeks after the attack, and an 86th just over a month after the attack. On 17 July 65 injured were still in hospital, 18 in critical condition. Fourteen of the dead were children. The figure of 434 indicates the total number of people admitted into hospital with injuries due to the attack; some of whom were not admitted immediately. Of the 86 dead, 43 were French nationals and the remaining 43 were foreign nationals of eighteen countries. A regional Islamic association claimed "more than one third" of the victims were Muslims. By 19 July, French authorities had formally identified the then 84 victims, with detailed lists published by
Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
. Two days later, the Hôtel de Ville in Nice was draped with two long black banners recording the names of these 84 victims., List of the 84 victims


Investigation

Late on 14 July, the '' ministère public'' of Paris, which has national responsibility for combating
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
, opened an inquiry into "murder and attempted murder by an organised gang connected to a terrorist organisation" and "criminal terrorist conspiracy". The investigations for the inquiry were assigned to the
Central Directorate of the Judicial Police Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
(DCPJ) and the
General Directorate for Internal Security The General Directorate for Internal Security (french: link=no, Direction générale de la Sécurité intérieure, DGSI) is a French security agency. It is charged with counter-espionage, counter-terrorism, countering cybercrime and surveillan ...
(DGSI). * On 15 July, prosecutor François Molins of the ''ministère public'' in Paris said that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel appeared to have not been known to French or Tunisian intelligence agencies to have ties to terror groups, nor was he registered as a national security risk ( fiche "S") with French authorities. * On 17 July,
Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
Cazeneuve Cazeneuve may refer to: People *André Cazeneuve (died 1874), French soldier in Japanese service *Bernard Cazeneuve (born 1963), French prime minister * Jean Cazeneuve (1915–2005), French sociologist and anthropologist. * Louis Cazeneuve (1 ...
said he believed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had been radicalised quickly, and Molins said Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had a "clear, recent interest in the radical
jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
movement". * On 18 July, Molins said the attack could be described as "terrorism" as defined by French law. * On 21 July, Molins announced that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel seemed to have planned the attack for several months and to have received assistance.


Arrests

Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's estranged wife was arrested on 15 July, but was then released two days later. Also, a man was arrested on 15 July. On 16 July, three more men were arrested. On 17 July, a man and a woman, both
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
ns, were arrested in Nice following a police raid the previous day. On 25 July, two more men were arrested after photographs of them were found on Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's mobile phone. One was released after five days, while the other was charged with conspiracy in relation to a terrorist enterprise, just like five of the people arrested on 15–17 July.


Alleged accomplices

By 21 July, three men with Tunisian origins and an Albanian couple, all previously unknown to the French intelligence agencies, had been charged by the '' ministère public'' with "criminal conspiracy in relation to a terrorist enterprise". The three men were also charged with complicity in murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise. A sixth male suspect was later charged with conspiracy in relation to a terrorist enterprise. * Ramzi A., a French-Tunisian born in Nice, aged 21. He was suspected of having "participated in supplying the automatic pistol of the killer". While under arrest, he disclosed the location of a
Kalashnikov rifle A Kalashnikov (Калашников) rifle is any one of a series of automatic rifles based on the original design of Mikhail Kalashnikov. They are officially known in Russian as "Avtomát Kaláshnikova" ( rus, Автома́т Кала́шник ...
. On the night of the attack, at 22:27, he received a text message from Lahouaiej-Bouhlel: "I wanted to tell you that the pistol you brought me yesterday was very good, so bring five more from your friend's place. They're for Chokri and his friends". Molins, the French prosecutor, disclosed that Ramzi A. had a previous police record for petty crime and drugs. * Mohamed Walid G., a French-Tunisian born in Tunisia, aged 40 or 41. In January 2015, shortly after the attack on ''Charlie Hebdo'', this suspect allegedly sent a text message to Lahouaiej-Bouhlel saying, "I am not Charlie ... I am happy, they have brought soldiers of Allah to finish the job." Between July 2015 and July 2016, Bouhlel and this suspect contacted each other by telephone 1,278 times. Photos on Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's telephone, dated 11 and 13 July, showed him with Bouhlel in the truck used for the attack. Molins, the French prosecutor, said that the suspect filmed the scene of the attack on the Promenade des Anglais during the night of 14–15 July, when it was filled with emergency services and journalists, before taking a selfie. * Chokri C., a Tunisian aged 37. This suspect allegedly sent Lahouaiej-Bouhlel a
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
message in April 2016, which read, "Load the truck with 2,000 tons of iron ... release the brakes my friend, and I will watch." Fingerprints of this suspect were found on the passenger door of Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's truck, and CCTV footage showed him seated next to Lahouaiej-Bouhlel as he drove the truck along the Promenade des Anglais on the evening of 12 July. * Artan H., an Albanian, aged 38; and his Albanian-born wife Enkeledgia Z., aged 42, who had dual French-Albanian nationality. This couple were suspected of "participat ngin supplying the automatic pistol of the killer", and breaking the law on weapons in relation to a terrorist enterprise. * Hamdi Z., a Tunisian, aged 36. He was arrested on 25 July and charged with conspiracy in relation to a terrorist enterprise. He had been recorded on Lahouaiej-Bouhlel's mobile phone in a selfie with Lahouaiej-Bouhlel taken next to the truck. He was transferred to Paris on 1 August for further questioning.


Reactions


French government


15 July

French President François Hollande said that he had consulted his
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...
and
Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
Bernard Cazeneuve Bernard Guy Georges Cazeneuve (; born 2 June 1963) is a French politician and lawyer who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 December 2016 to 15 May 2017. A member of the Socialist Party, he represented Manche’s 5th constituency in the ...
, and was returning to Paris from
Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
, expecting to arrive in the French capital at 01:15h to have an emergency Interior Ministry meeting regarding the attacks. At 00:59h, Cazeneuve initiated the ORSEC plan, the French
emergency plan Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...
for disasters. At 03:47h, Hollande addressed the French nation in a televised broadcast from Paris. He assessed that "the terrorist nature of this attack can't be denied" and linked the attack to Islamic terrorism: "all of France is being menaced by fundamentalist Islamic terrorism".'Om te doden, te verpletteren en af te slachten'
To kill, shatter, slaughter' Speech President Hollande, early 15 July 2016. '' Nrc.nl'', 15 July 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
He announced a three-month extension of the state of emergency, previously due to end on 26 July, announced an intensification of the French military attacks on ISIL in Syria and Iraq,‘Attentat de Nice : les responsables politiques, entre émotion et colère’
ttack of Nice: politicians between emotion and rage lemonde.fr, 15 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
and announced that more security personnel would be deployed. Prime Minister Manuel Valls later that day announced three days of
national mourning A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of ...
on 16–18 July. Valls said in the
France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 ...
television's evening news programme at 8:00 p.m. on 15 July, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was "probably linked to radical Islam one way or another". Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said, on the coinciding television news of TF1:‘Was de dader jihadist, gestoord of allebei?’
Was the perpetrator jihadist, mentally disordered, or both?' ''
NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ''NRC Handelsblad'' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. It is generally accepted as a newspaper of record in the Netherlands. History ''NRC Handelsblad'' was first published on 1 ...
'', 18 July 2016; retrieved 19 July 2016.
"We have an individual who was not known to intelligence services for activities linked to radical Islam", when asked whether he could confirm the attacker's motives were linked to jihadism he replied: "No".


16–17 July

On 16 July French Defence Minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian Jean-Yves Le Drian (; born 30 June 1947) is a French politician who served as Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the First Philippe government, governments of Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and ...
said: "I remind you that Daesh's ideologue, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, has for several weeks repeated calls to attack directly, even individually, Frenchmen, in particular, or Americans, wherever they are, by any means necessary ... It is murder, and Daesh's claim of responsibility comes later, as has happened in other recent events". Bernard Cazeneuve on 16 July, after ISIL had claimed the attacker as one of its soldiers, said: if Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was radicalised, "It seems that he was radicalised very quickly — in any case these are the elements that have come up from the testimony of the people around him." Cazeneuve on 16 or 17 July announced plans to increase security in response to the attack by calling 12,000 police reservists to add to the 120,000 person force. He urged "all patriotic citizens" to join the
reserve forces A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve f ...
to boost security following the attacks.


18 July and later

On 18 July, France observed a one-minute silence in remembrance of those killed in the attack. In Nice, as the Prime Minister arrived to observe the silence, the crowd booed him and some shouted for his resignation, with some calling him a murderer. President Hollande was similarly booed by crowds when visiting Nice the day after the attack. The booing was described by BBC as "unprecedented", who commented that it was "a stark warning of how the mood in the country has changed" in comparison to public responses after other recent major terrorist attacks in France. On 21 July, the state of emergency was formally extended until 31 January 2017. A week after the attack, the anti-terror directorate of the
National Police National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...
(SDAT) requested that the local authorities in Nice destroy CCTV footage of the attack, arguing that leaked images would compromise the dignity of victims and could be used as propaganda by terrorist organizations. The request has been refused by local authorities who have argued that the CCTV footage might provide evidence that the National Police had placed inadequate security measures on the Promenade des Anglais on 14 July. On 26 July 2016, three Nice residents who had chased the truck during the attack were presented with medals for bravery by the local authorities in Nice. On 14 July 2017, president Macron said during a remembrance ceremony in Nice "This rage, I know, many of you still carry it in the pit of your stomach, ... Everything will be done in order for the republic, the state and public authorities to regain your trust.”


French public ministry

François Molins, prosecutor of the ''ministère public'' (''le parquet'') in Paris – the authority ('public ministry') responsible for defending French society with regard to terrorism – stated on 15 July that the Nice attack bore the hallmarks of
jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
terrorism. On 18 July, Molins said the attack could be described as "terrorism" as defined by French law.


The Republicans

On 15 July,
Alain Juppé Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced major strikes that paralysed the coun ...
, former prime minister of France and one of the final two candidates to become the
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidate for the April–May 2017 presidential election; and Christian Estrosi, former Nice mayor, raised the question of whether more could have been done to prevent the attack. In September 2016,
François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...
, the other Republican candidate in the French presidential election, published a book titled "Defeating Islamic Totalitarianism" ''(Vaincre le totalitarisme islamique)'', in which he advocated a stricter state surveillance on the Muslim community and more attention to the French identity. He also wrote that France was "at war" with
radical Islam Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic und ...
.


National Front

Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician who ran for the French presidency in 2012, 2017, and 2022. A member of the National Rally (RN; previously the National Front, FN), she served as its pre ...
, president of the National Front party and candidate for the April–May 2017 presidential election, said in a ''
Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...
'' interview, "I'm furious, because I hear the same words, notice the same reflexes in the political class, but see no action that contributes one ounce of supplemental security". She judged it "urgent to attack the ideology that is the basis of this terrorism" and regretted that "nothing" was decided for the closing down of the
salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...
mosques.


International

Leaderships of 49 countries and five supranational bodies expressed abhorrence of the attack and
condolences Condolences (from Latin ''con'' (with) + ''dolore'' (sorrow)) are an expression of sympathy to someone who is experiencing pain arising from death, deep mental anguish, or misfortune. When individuals condole, or offer their condolences to a part ...
for families and for France. US President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
labelled the attack as possible terrorism,'Statement by President Obama on the Attack in Nice, France'
twitter.com/WhiteHouse, 14 July 2016 16:55 (
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
n time). Retrieved 29 August 2016. ( on 15 July 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.)
as did German Chancellor
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...
.


Claim of ISIL responsibility

On 16 July, the
Amaq News Agency Amaq News Agency ( ar, وكالة أعماق الإخبارية) is a news outlet linked to the Islamic State (IS). Amaq publishes news reports about claims of responsibility for terrorist attacks in Western countries. It is often the "first poi ...
, called Lahouaiej-Bouhlel "a soldier of the Islamic State." It cited an "insider source" which said Lahouaiej-Bouhlel "executed the operation in response to calls to target citizens of coalition nations, which fight the Islamic State". Later that same day, ISIL's official al-Bayan radio station said the attacker executed a "new, special operation using a truck" and "the crusader countries know that no matter how much they enforce their security measures and procedures, it will not stop the mujahideen from striking."


Islamic and Christian responses

The first
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic
funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
ceremony of victims of the attack took place on 19 July in the ''Ar-Rahma'' (''The Mercifulness'')
mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
, the oldest in
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
and the largest in
Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...
. Last honours of the Islamic community were rendered to a 23-year-old
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
n woman, her 4-year-old child, and a young man.
Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
and
imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
Otmane Aïssaoui said in his
sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
, "The sole frontier for which one should halt is this: the respect for a man, for a woman, irrespective of their colour of skin, their origin. A truth one can find in
the Gospel The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefits ...
, in the
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
, even in
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
!" Citing a Quranic
verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...
, he said, "At the
Last Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
, ahouaiej-Bouhlelwill be asked: 'why did you kill that little child of four years old?'"'Attentat de Nice: le temps des obsèques'
Attack of Nice: time for the funerals' ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'', 21 July 2016; retrieved 9 August 2016.
Also invited to speak was the
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
of the nearby
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...
Saint-Pierre d'Ariane.
Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
Patrick Bruzzone said, "My brothers ... I say 'my brothers' because, today more than ever, when one man is hurt, the whole of humanity is hurt." On 21 July, a commemoration was held for "people of all religions and even beyond that" in Catholic church Saint-Pierre d'Arène, located near the area where the attack had taken place. The priest and the
vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
called for "the calming down, necessary for taking at hand our common future in this torn city and in the whole country. To contemplate together, in order to solidly reconstruct the social ties that now are increasingly crumbled and largely ruined". On 24 September,
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
met 800 family members of the victims of the attack in Rome.


Social media

Immediately after the attack, while it still remained unclear whether the threat had ended, people used
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
, particularly Twitter, to help others find shelter, using the
hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-generated ...
''#PortesOuvertesNice'' (Open Doors Nice), a variation of a hashtag used in other recent attacks in France. On 14 and 15 July, the French government urged social media users to only share reliable information from official sources, while false rumours circulated that hostages had been taken, that the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...
had been attacked and set on fire, and that
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
had also been attacked.


After-effects


Cultural

Organisers of the 20th
Nice Jazz Festival The Nice Jazz Festival (, ), held annually since 1948 in Nice, on the French Riviera, is "the first jazz festival of international significance." At the inaugural festival, Louis Armstrong and his All Stars were the headliners. Frommer's calls i ...
, scheduled to begin on 16 July, cancelled the event in the wake of the attack.
Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
cancelled a concert scheduled as a part of her
Anti World Tour The Anti World Tour (stylized as ANTI World Tour) was the seventh concert tour by Barbadian singer Rihanna, in support of her eighth studio album, '' Anti'' (2016). The tour was announced on November 15, 2015 and began on March 12, 2016, in Ja ...
for 15 July at Nice's
Allianz Riviera Allianz Riviera (also known as the Stade de Nice due to UEFA and FIFA sponsorship regulations) is a multi-use stadium in Nice, France, used mostly for football matches of host OGC Nice and also for occasional home matches of rugby union club To ...
. At London's
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
on 15 July, the opening night of the 2016 Proms Festival paid tribute to the people of Nice, with the
BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...
performing a rendition of "
La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...
". In December 2016, an American musician faSade, who witnessed the attack, published a music video of a song that paid tribute to the victims, featuring images of the attack's aftermath. In August, the
European Cycling Union European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
decided to move the
2016 European Road Championships The 2016 European Road Cycling Championships was the 22nd running of the European Road Cycling Championships, that took place over 14–18 September 2016 in Plumelec, France. The event consisted of a total of 5 road races and 5 time trials, regul ...
, which were to be hosted on 14–18 September in Nice, to
Plumelec Plumelec (, ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of the Brittany region, in north-western France. Geography Plumelec is west of Rennes via the RN24 road, and north-west of Nantes via the RN165 road. The commune is situated on the Br ...
in the northwest of France, due to security concerns in Nice after the 14 July attack.


Financial markets

European stocks opened lower and then closed mixed on Friday 15 July (the day after the attacks) as investor sentiment was dampened by the attack in France. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down by 0.38%, the French
CAC 40 The CAC 40 (french: CAC quarante ) (''Cotation Assistée en Continu'') is a benchmark French stock market index. The index represents a capitalization-weighted measure of the 40 most significant stocks among the 100 largest market caps on the E ...
by 0.4%, and German
DAX Dax or DAX may refer to: Business and organizations * DAX, stock market index of the top 40 German companies ** DAX 100, an expanded index of 100 stocks, superseded by the HDAX ** TecDAX, stock index of the top 30 German technology firms * Dax ...
by 0.4%. The British
FTSE 100 The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with (in principle) the highest market ...
fell by 0.2% before closing up by 0.22%, down at 0.32% in STOXX 600, 0.6% in CAC 40, and 0.01% in DAX. Airlines, along with other travel share, were some of the hardest hit companies, with Flybe and EasyJet down by around 3.7 per cent and three per cent respectively.


Tourism

Cancellations and last-minute changes to European holidays rose in the summer, with travellers increasingly concerned about the threat of terrorism. Other terrorist attacks in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
prompted holidaymakers to cancel their bookings or seek out other destinations perceived to be safe. The Nice attack, along with the recent failed coup in Turkey, were expected to add to the pressure. "This is not going to be a good year," European Tour Operators Association chief executive Tom Jenkins said. "There is a real suppression of demand for destinations like Belgium and France."


Tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims

On the week after 14 July, some Nice inhabitants noticed and deplored increasing anti-Muslim and racist rhetoric in their quarters. Some non-Muslims said that their view on Muslims had changed. "We're in Europe and I think some of the oriental rites are somehow incompatible," a local man said. Before the attack, on 8 June, the carcass of a pig had been found in front of a mosque in Nice. Two suspected men were charged and the court's judgement was expected to be filed on 12 October. On the morning of 11 October, the imam of that same mosque found the head and pelt of a pig mounted before the mosque's entrance.


Raids and house arrests under state of emergency

As of August 2016, under the
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
put in force since November 2015 and extended after the Nice attack, around 3,600 houses had been raided. The raids resulted in six terrorism-related inquiries, only one of which led to prosecution. Most raids were reportedly connected with narcotics, not with terrorism, implying misuse of the new powers of emergency. Previously, as of May 2016, under the emergency law, house arrest had been imposed on 404 people, mostly Muslims of North African descent. Many French citizens that were placed under house arrest allegedly lost jobs or employment opportunities as a result. By mid-November 2016, some people had been under house arrest for nearly a year during which no judicial inquiry against them had been started. On 15 November, President Hollande announced his intention to prolong the state of emergency until the French presidential elections on 23 April and 7 May 2017.


See also

*
List of Islamist terrorist attacks The following is a list of Islamist terrorist attacks. 1940s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2001-2010 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011-2020 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 ...
*
List of massacres in France The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in France (numbers may be approximate): Celtic Gaul Roman Gaul Merovingian Francia Carolingian Francia Capetian France Valois France Bourbon France Revolutionary and Imperia ...
*
List of rampage killers (religious, political, or ethnic crimes) This section of the list of rampage killers contains notable mass murders, committed by lone wolf perpetrators, that have a foremost religious, political or racial background. A rampage killer has been defined as follows: This list should co ...


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nice attack, 2016 2016 murders in France 2016 road incidents in Europe 2010s road incidents in France 21st century in Nice Crime in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur Terrorist incidents in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur Filmed killings Murders by motor vehicle Islamic terrorism in France Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016 July 2016 crimes in Europe July 2016 events in France Massacres in 2016 Massacres in France Mass murder in 2016 Vehicular rampage in France Terrorist incidents in France in 2016 Terrorist incidents involving vehicular attacks
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...