As U.S. President Donald Trump returned home to the U.S. from France and on the one year anniversary of an Islamic terror attack in Nice, France, Trump pledged, “solidarity with France against terror.”
After two days in Paris to commemorate both Bastille Day and the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into WWI, President Trump tweeted, “The United States mourns for the victims of Nice, France. We pledge our solidarity with France against terror.”
In a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron held after a bilateral meeting between the two world leaders, the two Presidents pledged to strengthen cooperative efforts to root out and defeat terrorism.
Trump mentioned the July 14, 2016 Islamic terror attack on Bastille Day celebrants in Nice during the joint conference.“We all remember that – how horrible that was. We mourn the 86 lives that were stolen and we pray for their loved ones,” he said. He went on to speak of stripping terrorists of “their territory, their funding, their networks, and their ideological support.”
ISIS claimed responsibility for the Nice terror attack. Tunisian-born Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a cargo truck down the Promenade des Anglais and into a crowd, killing 86 and injuring hundreds more.
On Friday, Presidents Trump and Macron took part in a Bastille Day commemoration including a parade in which military bands spelled out the names of French cities. As a tribute to the 86 people who died in the Islamic terror attacks on the Bastille Day celebration in Nice last year, one band spelled out “NICE” in front of Presidents Trump and Macron.
France has seen a string of Islamic terror attacks over the past three years, including the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that killed 12, and shots fired and explosives detonated in a coordinated attack on a soccer match, cafes, and a concert hall that killed 130 in late 2015.
As of late May, there had been a terror attack every nine days in 2017 occurring either in the U.K, Europe, or Russia.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana
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