Second mass terrorist attack rips through Nice, France, just hours after President Hollande ends the state of emergency
Just hours after President Hollande announces the end of the state of emergency in France, another mass shooting terrorist attack floods the biggest city in the south, Nice.
The celebrations for Bastille Day (France’s day of Independence) in the centre of Nice were in full effect when a man driving a lorry ploughed through a crowd of people, killing and injuring many before then opening fire on surrounding pedestrians. He drove along the Promenade des Anglais for 1.4 miles before being shot down by the police, this however, after managing to kill at least 84 people — tourists and locals alike. According to the BBC, the number of blood donations have been so high this morning that the city’s hospitals say they now have enough thanks to the massive influx of contributions by locals.
The shocking and devastating effects of the attack are being felt around the world, but most notably in the surrounding areas and in the city itself as people are desperate to find out whether it was an attack by IS, or a lone extremist acting on his own initiative. All that is currently known about the attacker is based on speculation from ID papers found in the lorry which place the driver as a 31-year-old man of Franco-Tunisian origin — yet the French police are yet to confirm or deny any details.
As I am currently in the surrounding area of Nice itself (about an hour outside the city), I have been witnessing the effects of the attack on the local population, some of whom have family living in Nice and were notified of the incident late last night after it happened at 23.00 local time. Many of them were in the middle of enjoying the village fireworks display when word began to spread of the devastation. Others were notified this morning. There is also a great sense of fear and curiosity amongst the tourists staying in the south. Most are worried about how and when they will be able to fly home, given that Nice airport is what the majority of travellers use — we can only assume that security will be drastically heightened, but all flights should go on as planned as no comments have been made thus far.
Local Boulangerie owner Celeste Bouché who lives in the village of Callas, stated this morning that ‘the whole village is shocked’ and she is ‘terrified that something like this could happen to France again so soon’.
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