The tribute ceremony for the victims as part of the commemoration of the ten-year anniversary of the July 14, 2016 attack took place at 6 p.m. on Place Massena. In the presence of the President of the Republic, this commemoration brought a message of memory but also of hope.
“Ten years ago, the worst twilight descended upon Nice. That evening, a happy crowd had just celebrated the glorious history of France by watching the sky,” shared Éric Ciotti, the mayor of Nice during his speech.
On Place Massena, many political figures were present, notably François Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy, numerous ministers such as Bernard Cazeneuve and Manuel Valls, the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, and Prince Albert II of Monaco and Christian Estrosi. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, was also back in the Azure Coast city a few weeks after his visit on the occasion of the visit of the Indian Prime Minister.
The duty to remember
Gautier Capuçon managed to enchant the famous Place Masséna with the sweet sound of his cello.
“In a few minutes, the horror, eighty-six lives are cut down. Nice wakes up battered, the world holds its breath (…) the pain is immense, as is the solidarity.” These were the opening words that began the ceremony. The commemoration began with the broadcast of a video montage with a compilation of testimonies. This film produced by the city of Nice showed images of support, solidarity and moments of reflection. “Each object tells a life story, the memorial overflows with tenderness and sorrow,” says the narrator.
These initial images sparked the first strong emotions in the assembly.
“Isolation” by Alphonse de Lamartine was recited by Léa Amiot, a student from the National Theater of Nice. On Place Massena, this speech was full of meaning: “one single being is missing and everything seems desolate.“
The first and last names of the eighty-six victims were read out by the Master of Ceremonies. From the Paillon Promenade, forty-three first responders and members of law enforcement then approached, accompanied by forty-three children. Together, they laid an olive branch on the eighty-six blue chairs, arranged in a semicircle. Symbolizing the Promenade des Anglais, each chair was engraved with the name of a victim.
The ceremony continued with the laying of a wreath by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by two young children, a firefighter and a gendarme officer. A solemn minute of silence followed, with heads bowed and the stands filled with grave faces and dried tears.
A message of hope
The ceremony continued with a demonstration by the French Air Force Aerobatic Team flying over Place Massena and painting the sky in the colors of France, extending to the Promenade des Anglais.
All the various speeches carried a message of memory but also of resilience. “It is not forgetting, it is learning to live with a wound that will never fully heal,” says Patrick Prigent, president of the “Life for Nice” association.
Nice is wounded by the violence of an ideology. “The horror did happen at my place, on my Prom’. I saw everything that evening and since then I have not been the same. Nice grieves,” says Anne Murris, president of the “Memorial of the Angels“.
These testimonies, as human as they were concrete, confirmed, if needed, the essential role of associations in the healing of victims. “I tell them on behalf of Nice residents my deepest gratitude and my full support,” declares the mayor of Nice, Éric Ciotti.
At the end of the ceremony, representatives of associations such as “Memorial of the Angels“, “Life for Nice“, “A Path for Children” and “Promenade of the Angels” would be received by the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, Éric Ciotti, Prince Albert II of Monaco and other political figures. Families and associations had long felt forgotten. This meeting was an opportunity for them to be heard.
Emmanuel Macron addressed the first responders on the night of July 14, 2016. “You were the first ramparts of the Republic.” He also reassured the associations of victims’ families. “In ten years, our organization has changed and France is stronger.”
Sung by the Nice Opera Choir, the national anthem “La Marseillaise” resonated across Place Massena, followed by the Nice anthem, “Nissa La Bella“.
“To the joy of the celebration was mixed a gravity, but July 14 has not ceased to be the day of our freedom. We must pass on courage, justice, fraternity, that of our Nation and our Republic,” declared Emmanuel Macron.
The commemoration of the ten-year anniversary of the July 14, 2016 attack continues tonight with a Philharmonic Concert. At 10 p.m., the Promenade des Anglais will be illuminated by a show of 2,016 drones, then at 10:34 p.m., the time the truck was stopped, eighty-six blue beams will be directed toward the sky.
NicePremium is a free, independent local news outlet.
Help us keep going by supporting our work from €5 per month.
