The driver, 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, had one conviction for a road rage incident that occurred three months ago, but prosecutor François Molins said he was “completely unknown” to the intelligence services.
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No group has claimed responsibility, although the attack was celebrated online by Islamic State supporters.
Investigators said he had no known connection to jihadist groups, and no evidence to back the IS claim has been presented. Speaking after visiting the hospital where victims were treated, he also said that France was “facing a struggle which will be long”. In September 2014, then-IS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani referred to “the filthy French”, telling Muslims within the country to attack them in any way they could, including “crush them with your auto”.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve on Friday said he could not confirm that the Nice truck attacker was motivated by religious extremism.
“I turned round and I saw the truck which was crashing into the crowd and bodies flying into the air”, the Nice resident said.
“France was struck on the day of its national holiday, July 14, the symbol of liberty”, Hollande said Friday, denouncing “this monstrosity” – a truck bearing down on citizens “with the intention of killing, smashing and massacring”.
It came as five people have been arrested over the deadly French terror attack.
According to some reports, the attacker spent the nine hours in his truck waiting for the revelers to turn out for the evening before plowing his vehicle into the crowd.
Early Friday, Hollande made a decision to extend the state of emergency for three months, saying: “The terrorist nature of this attack can not be denied”.
There have also reportedly been exchanges of gunfire between the driver and the police.
Several from the Cannes group are believed to have returned to France after fighting in Syria.
Tunisia, a former French colony, has struggled with Islamist extremism since the uprising that toppled Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, with many young Tunisians leaving to fight overseas. Nice, France’s fifth-largest city and the capital of the Cote d’Azur region, was put on lockdown by security forces in case further attacks might be planned.
“He seemed very weird”, she said.
At least 84 people, including a number of children, were killed and scores injured after a freight lorry ploughed through crowds of hundreds celebrating Bastille Day.
Mr Smith said he was haunted by images of bodies lying in the street.
Bouhlel’s ex-wife was in police custody, Molins said.
The driver’s father has reported that Bouhlel had received psychiatric treatment in the past.
Stallholder Romain Ribero said France was used to high security in the wake of last year’s Paris attacks.
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The Queen added her voice to the wave of sympathy from leaders across the world as the country faced another terrorist attack, following those in Paris in November, in which 130 died, and in January 2015 in which 17 were killed.
