In a move seen aimed to diffuse criticism, Cazeneuve also launched an internal police investigation into the handling of the attack, the results of which will be published next week, according to French President Francois Hollande who pledged that any police shortfalls will be addressed.
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French officials rushed to defend the government’s security measures Thursday even as the country’s interior minister acknowledged that national police were not, as he had claimed before, stationed at the entrance to closed-off Nice boulevard during the Bastille Day truck attack that killed 84 people.
A policeman stands, watching the truck used for the attack near the scene of an attack after a truck drove onto the sidewalk late Thursday, and plowed through a crowd of revelers who gathered to watch the fireworks in the French resort city of Nice, southern France, Friday, July 15, 2016.
Emergency rule has been in place since attacks on Paris last November in which Islamist militants killed 130 people.
The attack was later claimed by the Islamic State group.
Investigators said on Tuesday that 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who used a 19-tonne truck to mow down revellers enjoying Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, had shown “recent interest” in jihadist activity.
Neighbours and relatives say the killer – who had a history of violence, mental instability, and was known to police – lived a life “far from religion”, drinking alcohol and having sexual relationships with both men and women.
“We are up against challenges and that of terrorism is without doubt one of the largest ones”, said Hollande, using a visit to Portugal to urge the whole of Europe to make defence an absolute priority.
The ruling Socialists have proposed a three-month extension but government sources told AFP that they would cede to the demands of the conservative opposition to keep the draconian security measures in place until the beginning of 2017.
While previous attacks in France spawned grand displays of national unity, there was no semblance of cohesion after the Nice massacre, which comes ahead of presidential and legislative elections in April.
The Paris prosecutor says the driver who killed 84 people on a Nice beachfront had accomplices and he had been plotting his attack for months.
No links found between attacker and Islamic State, despite IS claim of responsibility.
Authorities found “very violent” photos on his computer, including of corpses, fighters posing with the IS flag and photos of Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden.
French TV channel TF1 said the snaps were taken on July 12 and July 13 – just 24 hours before he went on the rampage.
Approximately 2300: Bouhlel is shot dead by police 300 metres (yards) after he fired three shots from a 7.65 mm pistol.
In a sign of the mounting frustration over a string of extremists bombings, shootings and stabbings that have killed over 230 people in 18 months, Prime Minister Manuel Valls was booed and heckled on Monday at a remembrance ceremony in Nice.
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Molins said information from Bouhlel’s phone showed searches and photos that indicated he had been studying an attack since 2015.
