2016 Bastille Day Attack

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Overview

The 2016 Bastille Day Attack was a terrorist attack carried out by a Tunisian man who deliberately drove a cargo truck into a crowd of people gathered along the waterfront of Nice, France to watch the firework display in celebration of the Bastille Day on the evening of July 14th, 2016. The vehicle rampage resulted in the deaths of at least 84 people and 202 injured.

Background

On the evening of July 14th, 2016, thousands of people gathered along the Promenade des Anglais, a prominent waterfront situated on the Mediterranean coast in Nice, France, to watch the firework display in observance of the 227th French National Day. At approximately 10:40 PM (local time), as the fireworks were about to conclude, a cargo truck weighing 25 tons breached the vehicle barriers and plunged into the crowds on the Promenade, swerving repeatedly to hit pedestrians and shooting at the police and civilians while moving at a high speed. After continuing for two kilometers (1.2 miles), the driver was shot and killed by the French police in a barrage of gunfire after the truck was completely surrounded. The driver was identified as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel , a 31-year-old male of Franco-Tunisian nationality.

Notable Developments

Online Reactions

On Reddit, users began submitting threads to various subreddits such as r/AskReddit^[1], r/WorldNews^[2] and r/Europe. r/Live had a thread covering the attack, investigation and aftermath.^[4] On Twitter, Russia Today's @RT_com posted a live coverage feed and tweeted several videos showing the festival-goers escaping and some including graphic footage of the injured and killed.^[5]

Twitter users soon begin using the hashtag #portesouvertesnice to help escapees find shelter and announce safe locations along with #attaquesnice to send other information about the attack. BBC’s coverage summarised the use of multiple hashtags on social media including the likes of #PorteOuverteNice and #JeSuisNice, and that taxi drivers were also using the #PorteOverteNice hashtag to over free rides to safety.^[6]

BBC’s live coverage included a story of Facebook user Tiava Banner who had lost her 8-month old baby, but had later been found.^[7]

"We've lost our 8-month-old baby. Friends in Nice, if you've seen him, if you were there, if you've picked him up please contact me."

The post was later updated to say the baby had been found, and thanked a woman named Joy Ruez.

"Thank you Facebook to all those who helped and sent messages of support," Tiava Banner wrote, also adding hashtags associated with the Nice attacks.

Tributes

In the following hours of the attack, dozens of artists and illustrators from all around the world took their condolences and tributes for the victims of the attack to Twitter using the hashtags #PrayForNice and #JeSuisNice.

Search Interest

External References