Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and Li Keqiang are among the many wold leaders who have criticised the recent attack in Nice which saw a truck smashed into a crowd killing at least 84 as they watched a Bastille Day fireworks display.
US President Barack Obama condemned what he said appeared to be a “horrific terrorist attack”.
“We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack,” he said in a statement.
“On this Bastille Day, we are reminded of the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who had been in Paris earlier in the day for a Bastille Day parade, said: “The United States will continue to stand firmly with the French people during this time of tragedy. We will provide whatever support is needed.”
Germany “stands alongside France in the fight against terrorism,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said, adding that “words can barely express” what France’s allies felt.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter: “Canadians are shocked by tonight’s attack in Nice. Our sympathy is with the victims, and our solidarity with the French people.”
A spokesman for new British Prime Minister Theresa May called the attack “a terrible incident”, adding “we are shocked and concerned”.
Boris Johnson, whose first engagement as Britain’s new foreign secretary was at the French ambassador’s Bastille Day party in London, said on Twitter: “Shocked and saddened by the appalling events in Nice, and the terrible loss of life.”
New York mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that he was “sickened by news of another senseless attack”.
European Council President Donald Tusk called it “a sad day for France, for Europe”. He said it was “tragic” that “the subjects of the attack were people celebrating liberty, equality and fraternity.”
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim—whose own country suffered deadly suicide bombings at Istanbul’s airport two weeks ago—condemned the “cowardly terrorist attack that has bloodied
Nice on this national celebration day”.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang offered his “condolences” to the victims and said China opposed all forms of terrorism. The United Nations Security Council called the attack “barbaric and cowardly”.
Latin American leaders also condemned the carnage, with Brazilian interim president Michel Temer declaring: “Today, more than ever, we are all French.” Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa
added that he was sending France “a hug” after “a tragedy caused by insanity”.
The Vatican said in a statement that it “condemned in the strongest possible terms” the bloodshed in Nice. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy evoked “the pain of all good people, who are potential victims of barbarism, folly and the greatest contempt for human life”.
The Kremlin said Russia was “in solidarity with the people of France during these difficult days.”
Kulsuma Aktergetty images