French President Francois Hollande has led a ceremony in Nice to commemorate the victims of the Bastille Day attack that killed 86 people. The commemoration comes on the three-month anniversary.
Image: Picture-Alliance/dpa/E. Gaillard
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Around 1,500 people turned out on a sunny autumn day - about half directly affected by the attack in which a Tunisian-born Frenchman deliberately drove his 19-ton truck through a thick holiday crowd.
"It's national unity that has been hit on July 14. That's the monstrous target of the terrorists," Hollande said. "Hitting some to scare the others, unleashing violence to create division, instilling fear to fuel distrust and stigmatization. This evil project will fail. Unity, liberty, humanity, in the end, will prevail."
The names of the 86 victims - of 19 different nationalities - were read and 86 white roses placed on the center of the ceremony square. Cindy Pellegrini, recalled France's ideal of "liberty, equality, fraternity," as she mourned the loss of six members of her family in the attack. "Our sadness is undefinable," she said. "How to live with physical wounds? How to live with moral wounds?"
Tunisian-born Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel plowed a delivery truck into crowds gathered to see Bastille Day fireworks along the city's seaside promenade. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility, but investigators have not found a definitive link between Bouhlel and the group.Image: Picture-Alliance/dpa/E. Gaillard
An open wound in French society
Flowers, teddy bears and flags of various nations were floating on a makeshift memorial near the Promenade des Anglais that was closed to the general public. The massacre was among the worst in a string of jihadist attacks over the past two years that have ramped up security fears while stoking anti-immigrant sentiment in the run-up to presidential elections next year.
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France's Socialist government came under fire for alleged security lapses ahead of the attack in Nice, a bastion of the right-wing opposition, as critics pointed to an insufficient police presence despite the state of emergency in place since the attacks that claimed 130 lives in Paris on November 13, 2015.
The attack also exacerbated tensions in French society, felt particularly by the country's 4-million-strong Muslim community -- the largest in Europe. Several municipalities went on to forbid the wearing of Burkini swimwear, before the controversial ban was reversed by France's highest court.
The night in Nice - a photographer and his photos
Valery Hache is a photographer in Nice. He experienced a night of terror from behind the lens of his camera and produced powerful photos the French news agency AFP sent around the world.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/S. Goldsmith
The truck
This truck's deadly drive through a crowd in the southern French city of Nice ended with a windshield riddled with bullets. Media reports said the truck contained ID papers from a 31-year-old Frenchman with Tunisian roots.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/V. Hache
Shocked survivors
It was chaotic for hours after the attack on the streets of Nice, a normally beautiful city on the French Mediterranean coast. Rescue workers raced to treat survivors, while authorities focused on investigating what happened - and how it happened.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/V. Hache
Initial reports Thursday night
Shortly after 11 p.m. local time, local newspaper Nice Matin reported that a truck had driven into a crowd. Over the course of the next few hours more reports and social media posts showed the deadly scene. By 1 a.m. the death toll had already reached 60, including many children.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/V. Hache
Survivors move to safety
Survivors lift their arms to show they do not pose a threat. Currently, police believe the perpetrator was working alone, but it could be some time until authorities have identified the man who drove the van and what may have motivated him.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/V. Hache
A deadly night
Rescue personnel painted a horrifying picture of the scene, describing a street littered with bodies. Many of the injured were in critical condition on Friday.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/V. Hache
Why people were there
Photographer Valery Hache had actually been planning to take pictures of the fireworks and Bastille Day celebrations. Those were the very first pictures his news agency published. But shortly after the first fireworks, the subject of his photos drastically changed.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/V. Hache
'We are at war'
First police took to the streets of Nice, then the soldiers took over. French President Francois Hollande extended the country's state of emergency by three months. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve made a clear statement, "We are at war with terrorists who want to strike us at any price and in a very violent way."
