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Nice Awakes to a Changed City on Morning After Attack

3 minute read

Nice is a city in shock. This community of about 340,000 people has for decades defined itself by its serene beauty and breezy Mediterranean lifestyle but on Friday, its famed seafront, the Promenade des Anglais was splattered with blood and closed by police.

The 19-tonne commercial truck, used to kill at least 84 people, was being examined by police on the promenade, while others searched the north-Nice home of the driver Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel,31, who was himself killed by police after careering through crowds for a least one mile.

Tourists and locals described how—just as the fireworks and music were reaching their final crescendo—they spotted a white truck move towards them at high speed, and then plough into crowds. Some said they momentarily froze in terror as they watched the vehicle mow down babies, children, men and women, crushing strollers and bodies in its wake.

“There were bodies, bodies everywhere,” says Habiba Sbai, 50, a Tunisian woman who immigrated to Nice 20 years ago, and works as a contractor. Holding back tears, she said she and her husband fled to their apartment a few blocks from the promenade, terrified that there might be further attacks. There they sat up all night, shaken. “I saw a baby lying dead in front of me,” she says. “After seeing that, I cannot sleep. I cannot work.”Her cell phone rang while she was speaking: It was a friend informing her that her colleague had been killed.

Terrorist Attack in Nice, France

A woman whose shirt is covered in blood is helped after authorities said a truck slammed into a crowd in Nice, France, on July 14, 2016. French officials said more than 70 people were killed.
A woman whose shirt is covered in blood is helped after authorities said a truck slammed into a crowd in Nice, France, on July 14, 2016. French officials said more than 70 people were killed.Antoine Chauvel
Bodies lie in the streets of Nice, France, after a terrorist attack that left at least 77 dead and dozens injured on July 14, 2016.
Bodies lie in the streets of Nice, France, after a terrorist attack that left at least 77 dead and dozens injured on July 14, 2016.Antoine Chauvel
Wounded and dead bodies lie on the ground in Nice, France, July 14, after a truck crashed into a crowd on the Promenade des Anglais. Antoine Chauvel
Covered bodies lie on the street after a truck crashed into a crowd along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, during celebrations of Bastille Day on July 14, 2016.
Covered bodies lie on the street after a truck crashed into a crowd along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, during celebrations of Bastille Day on July 14, 2016.Antoine Chauvel
At the site of the terrorist attack, people react along the Promenade des Anglais after a truck crashed into a crowd during celebrations of Bastille Day in Nice, France, July 14, 2016.
At the site of the terrorist attack, people react along the Promenade des Anglais after a truck crashed into a crowd during celebrations of Bastille Day in Nice, France, July 14, 2016.Antoine Chauvel
First responders tend to victims of a terrorist attack in Nice, France, that left at least 77 dead and dozens injured on July 14, 2016.
First responders tend to victims of a terrorist attack in Nice, France, that left at least 77 dead and dozens injured on July 14, 2016.Antoine Chauvel
First responders in Nice, France, after authorities said at least 77 people were killed and many more injured after a truck slammed into a crowd on July 14, 2016.
First responders in Nice, France, after authorities said at least 77 people were killed and many more injured after a truck slammed into a crowd on July 14, 2016.Antoine Chauvel
Bystanders tend to victims after a terrorist attack in Nice, France, that left 77 dead and many more injured, July 14, 2016
Bystanders tend to victims after a terrorist attack in Nice, France, that left 77 dead and many more injured, July 14, 2016Antoine Chauvel
Bodies lie in the streets of Nice, France, after a terrorist attack that left at least 77 dead and dozens injured on July 14, 2016.
Bodies lie in the streets of Nice, France, after a terrorist attack that left at least 77 dead and dozens injured on July 14, 2016.Antoine Chauvel
Bodies lie in the streets of Nice, France, after a terrorist attack left at least 77 dead and dozens injured on July 14, 2016.
Bodies lie in the streets of Nice, France, after a terrorist attack left at least 77 dead and dozens injured on July 14, 2016.Antoine Chauvel
French police after an attack that killed 77 and wounded many more along the Promenade des Anglais, Nice France, July 14, 2016. Antoine Chauvel

One day after the horrific bloodbath, residents expressed the fear that the government and police might be powerless to stop terror attacks, despite the heavy presence of police and armed soldiers in public places over the past several months.

Emmanuel Bajux, 22, who had come to Nice from Paris to look for work in one of the many tourist bars, said he struggled to escape from the promenade on Thursday night, since the narrow roads leading up from the promenade were jammed with people fleeing. “There were people everywhere, running,” he says. Now, he says he doubts he will feel safe in Nice. “The city will not be the same again. We do not feel protected.”

In fact, the sense of danger was remote in Nice until Thursday. Low-cost airlines flew over the promenade, even on Friday, bringing plane loads of holidaymakers, who use Nice as their base to tour the Cote d’Azur.

But for locals, the attack has instilled a far more menacing feeling. In a city with a large population of second-generation French Muslims and North African immigrants, the fact that Bouhlel was born and raised in Nice hit hard, leaving some to speculate about his motives. “These people are manipulated by the mosques,” said Nadia Le Fur, an Algerian immigrant to Nice, who stood on the promenade on Friday with her 9-year-old son. “I tell my kids about the real Islam, and that we don’t believe in terror.”

Le Fur said she her husband had returned home at 3 a.m. on Friday, after his shift working in a hotel that sits on the promenade, and had clearly been deeply affected by the bloodshed outside. “He was very, very pensive and shocked, quiet,” she said. “I did not recognize that man.”

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