Religious leaders have gathered in Nice for an interfaith service to pray for the victims of the Bastille Day terror attack, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the atrocity that killed 86 people and injured more than 400. President Emmanuel Macron is due to lead the main memorial ceremony later on Tuesday, while a minute’s silence will be observed before France’s World Cup semi-final against Spain.
Issued on: 14/07/2026 – 12:12
4 min Reading time
Religious leaders representing France’s Catholic, Christian Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant and Buddhist faithful led a service at Villa Masséna in the Riviera city on Monday, in memory of the 86 people killed 10 years ago during a terror attack on Nice’s beachfront.
“We pray for the bereaved families, for those wounded in body and in spirit, and for all those who still bear the scars of that night,” said Protestant pastor Paolo Morlachetti.
“May peace be with everyone,” said Sheikh Khaled Bentounes, representing the city’s Muslim community.
The ceremony, attended by victims and their families as well as government representatives, opened with the reading of the names of all 86 victims, 15 of whom were children and teenagers. The youngest was two years old and the oldest 79.
It concluded with the symbolic lighting of 86 candles.
Women light 86 candles during an interfaith ceremony in memory of the victims of the July 14, 2016 attack in Nice. AFP – VALERY HACHE
On the evening of 14 July, 2016, as people gathered to watch Bastille Day fireworks on the Promenade des Anglais beachfront, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a Tunisian living in France and acting on behalf of the Islamic State group, drove a 19-tonne lorry for almost 2 kilometres through the crowds, killing 86 people and injuring more than 400.
Organisers said the ceremony reflected the diversity of those killed, who came from around 20 countries and included people of different faiths. Nearly one-third of the victims were Muslims.
Bentounes called on those present to ensure that “such inhumanity can never happen again, here or elsewhere”, adding that future generations should learn to live “with one another, not against one another”.
Portraits of the victims of the 2016 Nice terror attack are displayed at a memorial on the Promenade des Anglais, Nice. AFP – NICOLAS TUCAT
Survivors of Nice terror attack try to put words on the unspeakable
Anniversary tributes
Commemorations began on Sunday with a silent march along the Promenade des Anglais, retracing the lorry’s route. Around 1,000 people took part, most dressed in white and carrying white roses, with nearly 300 relatives of victims leading the procession.
The march paused for a wreath-laying ceremony near the spot where the attacker was stopped and shot dead by police.
“It helps to see that we are not alone and that people are also making this important moment their own,” Patrick Prigent, president of the Life for Nice association, said. He described the anniversary as “an important moment” and a chance to “turn the page – not close the book, but turn the page”.
President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Nice on Tuesday to lead the main memorial ceremony before attending a drone display over the Promenade des Anglais.
At 22:34, the moment the attack came to an end 10 years ago, 86 blue beams of light will be projected into the night sky in memory of the victims.
The city is also holding a military parade earlier in the day, while Paris brought forward its traditional Bastille Day fireworks display to 13 July. Nearby Cannes delayed its own fireworks by one hour as a mark of respect.
Relatives of victims killed in the Bastille Day attack take part in a commemorative walk on the “Promenade des Anglais” on 12 July, 2026. AFP – VALERY HACHE
Macron leads commemoration for Nice attack victims
Fears of being forgotten
This year’s anniversary comes as some victims and relatives say the attack has received less national attention than the 2015 Paris terror attacks.
Tuesday’s memorial events coincide with France’s World Cup semi-final against Spain.
FIFA has agreed to hold a minute’s silence before kick-off.
“Thank you to the FIFA president for responding to the request from France and all the French people who have rallied together. We will never forget,” Macron wrote in a social media post on Monday.
Writer Thierry Vimal, whose 12-year-old daughter Amie was killed in the attack, said the 10th anniversary felt like “the last big event and after that, it’s over. We won’t talk about it anymore.”
Relatives of victims killed in the Bastille Day attack in Nice take part in a commemorative walk on the “Promenade des Anglais” on July 12, 2026. AFP – VALERY HACHE
Seven men and one woman were convicted in December 2022 of helping Lahouaiej-Bouhlel orchestrate the terror attack. They were handed prison sentences ranging from two to 18 years.
The Nice truck attack was the third major strike against France in an 18-month period in 2015/2016.
In January 2015, attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the Hypercacher supermarket killed 17 people; on 13 November, 2015, coordinated shootings and bombings in Paris and St Denis killed 130 people, including 90 at the Bataclan concert hall.
Jihadists repeatedly singled out France as a prime target following the country’s military actions against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
