French President: A Group May Be Behind the Nice Attack

Francois Hollande, the President of France, stated that "a group may be" behind the scenes of the attack on Thursday evening in the city of Nice. The attack has so far resulted in the deaths of 84 people and left over 200 injured. Mr. Hollande, who visited the hospital where the injured were being treated alongside Prime Minister Manuel Valls, emphasized that France is "engaged in a long battle." He also mentioned that the condition of 50 of the injured from the Thursday night incident is critical. The Associated Press reported that the French President was booed by some people upon his arrival in Nice. Protesters accuse the French government of being unable to secure the country against "Islamic terrorism." A 31-year-old man, born in Tunisia but residing in France, attacked people watching fireworks during the national holiday celebrations by driving a truck into the crowd. So far, 84 people have died in this incident, and about 200 have been injured, including 10 children and teenagers among the victims. The French news agency quoted Francois Molins, the country's prosecutor, stating that the Nice attacker was "completely unknown" to French security services and had never been monitored for "radicalization." The Tunisian news agency also reported that Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, identified as the truck driver, was not recognized as a radical Islamist by the security organizations in his country. He was killed in a police shootout. Jean-Jacques Urvoas, the French Minister of Justice, stated that Mr. Bouhlel had been convicted in March of this year for attacking another driver with a stick during a road rage incident. Mr. Urvoas said that since this conviction was his first, he was sentenced to probation and had to report to the police weekly, which he had complied with. Security sources in Tunisia told Reuters that he last visited his hometown in that country four years ago. Mohamed Bouhlel had previously been married and had three children. He had resided in France for the past 10 years but was not yet a citizen of the country. Neighbors of Mr. Bouhlel in northern Nice stated that he was nervous and did not socialize with others. About 130,000 Tunisians or Tunisian descendants live in Nice. Tunisia condemned the incident in the strongest possible terms. Patrick Calvar, the head of France's domestic security agency, stated that the country is facing the greatest threat in the world, and Interpol has also dispatched a response team to Nice. European Union foreign ministers are set to discuss the "battle against terrorism" on Monday. Nice, located in southern France, is one of the country's main tourist centers and one of the most well-known coastal cities in the world, especially hosting tens of thousands of tourists from various countries during the summer. Among the victims of the Thursday night incident were nationals from different countries. At the same time, millions of Muslims live in France, and hundreds of residents or citizens of this country have joined Islamist groups in recent years by going to countries like Iraq and Syria.