Terrorist attacks in France on National Day: 80 people died

The attack occurred on the Boulevard "Promenade des Anglais" in the French city of Nice. A man driving a truck intentionally hit hundreds of people attending a fireworks show on the National Day of France. The boulevard where the attack took place is located right on the waterfront, in the center of Nice.

The driver first shot a gun into the crowd before driving two kilometers along the Promenade des Anglais, the main street in Nice. Police shot and killed the driver, said Pierre-Henry Brandet, a spokesman for the French Interior Ministry. Police found firearms, explosives and grenades in the truck, Estrosi said.

An American witness at the scene said the driver of the truck was mowing bodies over, and that he appeared to accelerate as he hit those bodies. The witness said he saw only the driver. He heard gunfire as he ran away, but did not know its source. It seemed like an accident at first, but it became apparent very quickly that it was deliberate, the witness told CNN.

"We cannot deny that it was a terror attack," President Francois Hollande said in a national television address. He added that the choice of the day, Bastille Day, when France celebrates its post-French Revolution republic, was particularly poignant. He added that the day is a "symbol of liberty," and that "human rights are denied by fanatics and France is quite clearly their target."

Hollande recommended that an existing state of emergency put in place in the wake of the Paris attacks in November 2015 and due to expire later this month, be extended for three further months.

About 100 people who jumped into the sea of fear during the attack of Nice were rescued according to sources cited by the crisis cell of the daily newspaper Le Figaro.