Paris, July 14, (dpa/GNA) – A memorial service was held in Nice on Tuesday, to mark the 10th anniversary of the devastating terrorist attack on the seafront promenade, which claimed 86 lives.
“None of us has forgotten, is forgetting or will ever forget what happened here in Nice on July 14, 2016. Never,” said President Emmanuel Macron in his address. Macron gave his assurance that France would not abandon those affected and would stand firmly by their side.
The president recalled the many foreign tourists and visitors among the victims, including two schoolgirls and a teacher from Berlin. “I would like to emphasize today, in the presence of the ambassadors of their countries, that distance has never led to forgetting. They are with us,” Macron said.
Borders have not separated people in their grief, he added. Ten years ago, Tunisian national, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, drove a truck weighing several tons into a crowd on the Promenade des Anglais, after a fireworks display celebrating Bastille Day.
There were 86 fatalities, and more than 200 people were injured. Police officers shot and killed the attacker. The terrorist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. Although investigators found evidence of the attacker’s Islamist radicalization, no link to Islamic State was established.
In Berlin, the official commemoration will take place this September at the start of the new school year, as the anniversary falls during the Berlin school holidays, said Karen Beecken, headteacher of the Paula-Fürst Community School, which the teacher and pupils attended.
GNA