On the eve of the national holiday, as well as the fourth anniversary of the attacks on the Promenade des Anglais, Gérald Darmanin, the new Minister of the Interior, made a point of meeting with the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi.
“I wanted to come to Nice a few days after my appointment to express, on behalf of the State and the President of the Republic, the wound which remains very acute following the extremely severe attacks that the city of Nice experienced 4 years ago.” Gérald Darmanin, recently appointed Minister of the Interior, wished to pay tribute to the victims of the Promenade des Anglais. A total of 86 people lost their lives in the truck-ramming attack. “I want to tell Christian Estrosi, and all the people of Nice, how much we have not forgotten them, how attentive we are to their safety,” he added. The former Minister of Public Action and Accounts also met this morning, via videoconference, with his Italian counterpart, Luciana Lamorgese, and will be visiting Italy in August to enhance cooperation between France and Italy, particularly to monitor the Italian border.
The Minister of the Interior expressed his willingness, in an extremely constructive spirit, to work so that the municipal police have more resources in the security continuum. “The aim is not to transfer new powers to this police, which the state would no longer have, but to share the state’s powers in a practical way, to resolve everyday nuisances and give more confidence to mayors,” he confided.
Regarding The Avener’s concert on the Promenade des Anglais last Saturday, Gérald Darmanin reminds that the Prefect of the department acted properly in authorizing the organization of this event. “The city of Nice followed the state’s prescriptions, particularly those of the scientific council,” he stated before adding: “We must organize things so that citizenship prevails; we must wear masks, with the recommended safety distances,” he concluded.
Stricter Measures
Christian Estrosi, for his part, deplores the irresponsibility of some: “This compromises the safety of everyone. That is why I have decided that from now on, events will be limited to 2,500 people, and not 5,000 as is currently the case. Wearing a mask will be systematically mandatory because mere recommendation is not sufficient, unfortunately,” concluded the mayor of Nice.
