TERROR IN NICE

Posted on 07/15/2016 | About Nice, France

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the government is declaring three days of national mourning beginning Saturday after an attack in Nice left at least 84 people dead, when a truck driver late Thursday barreled for more than a mile through a seaside promenade filled with revellers celebrating Bastille Day. The promenade had been cleared of vehicles for a fireworks display.

The killer, a 31-year-old French Tunisian, named by local newspaper Nice Matin as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, then got out and sprayed fleeing people with bullets before being shot dead by police after his 30 minute rampage
The truck was loaded with weapons and grenades and the driver fired shots, said Christian Estrosi, a former mayor of the French Riviera resort city who is now a regional official.
French President Francois Hollande addressed the nation in a televised address early Friday morning, saying the attack was had “undeniable traits of terrorism.”
“France has been struck on its national day—July 14, a symbol of freedom—because human rights are denied by fanatics and France is of course their target,” President Hollande said.
Much of the waterfront was barricaded by police officers Friday morning, and the usually bustling beachfront was silent. Dozens of residents and tourists surveyed the area in shock, many in tears.
Young people sat wrapped in blankets outside the Centre Universitaire Méditerranéen, which had been used for psychological counselling overnight.
As the nation reeled from its third major terrorist attack in the last 18 months, Valls confirmed that a measure extending the country's state of emergency would go before lawmakers next week.
Valls and French President Francois Hollande were going to Nice later Friday.
Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said extra medical-legal police were being sent to Nice to speed the identification process so bodies can be returned to families, there are more than 50 children among the dead.
A lawmaker for the region that includes Nice said some people tried to escape the attack by going into the sea.
An investigation is underway.