Mr Key said he had conveyed his condolences to the president and prime minister of France following the attack and reiterated his position at earlier talks that New Zealand stood shoulder-to-shoulder with France in combating violent extremism.
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The Tunisian-born driver who killed 84 people after slamming his truck into a crowd of revelers in the French resort of Nice had suffered from depression but had nothing to do with religion, his father told AFP on Friday.
French President Francois called the incident a “terrorist” attack and has announced a three-month extension of a state of emergency that has been in place since the November attacks.
“I don’t want to cede to terrorists”, she said.
Speaking at the White House, Mr Obama said the mass killing, carried out by one man behind the wheel of a lorry, was “tragic” and “appalling”. “There are French among the victims and also many foreigners from every continent and many children, young children”, Hollande said after visiting a hospital.
People gather next to flowers and tributes on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France.
Of the 84 people dead, officials have confirmed that two were Americans and ten were children.
Donald Trump on Friday, who has said that Muslims should be barred from entering the country, linked the Nice attack and previous ones in the USA and around the world to migrants and refugees.
They said the man hurled himself into the cab when the truck was forced to slow down when confronted with an obstruction.
“You are welcome to join us or simply take part in this moment with us wherever you will be”, said the embassy statement.
Latin American countries on Friday joined France in mourning the hundreds of victims of the latest terror attack on French soil, and condemned the targeting of innocent lives.
– Just before midnight (2200 GMT), Nice’s regional head Christian Estrosi says on Twitter: “The driver of a van appears to have killed dozens”.
Police killed the driver “apparently after an exchange of gunfire”, Eric Ciotti, the ranking politician of the Alpes-Maritime department that includes Nice, told BFM television. The website includes a list of government efforts, a directory of organizations and resources for victims and information about terrorist attacks.
“No news from Claire who was at the fireworks”, one post said.
Video footage showed men and women – one or two pushing prams – racing to get away from the scene. France has contributed to airstrikes in both countries, targeting the Islamic State group. “We are going to keep taking out ISIL leaders and pushing ISIL back in Syria and Iraq”, Obama said, using an acronym for Islamic State militants.
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France is home to the European Union’s biggest Muslim population, mostly descended from immigrants from North African former colonies.
