Floral tributes on the promenade in Nice.
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Investigators found Bouhlel’s identification documents, cell phone and bank card inside the 19-ton truck he had rented days earlier.
Sources said the arrests were centred on the attacker’s “close entourage”.
A number of injured people are in a critical condition.
A spokesperson said it has “particular concerns” for his welfare.
Hollande said a state of emergency – imposed after a string of terrorist attacks at a concert hall, national stadium and cafes in Paris on Nov 13 – would be extended by six months beyond its current expiration date of July 26.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who had celebrated Bastille Day with dinner at the French embassy in London, described the attack as “appalling and cowardly”. “We will provide an update on the situation in due course”.
The claim – circulated on social media by a news outlet affiliated with the group – didn’t name Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, the 31-year-old Tunisian who authorities say was behind the wheel as a truck crashed into revelers Thursday night.
Nobody really paid much attention to the white, refrigerated lorry as it approached the Promenade des Anglais.
“As far as I’m concerned, I demand answers, and not the usual stuff”, Estrosi said on BFM TV on Friday morning, questioning whether the government had provided enough national police officers for the fireworks display.
What in fact he was about to deliver was murder on a massive scale.
Crowds fled in panic, taking shelter in shops or hotels or leaping off the elevated pavement on to the beach below.
Born January 3, 1985, in Tunisia, Lahouaiej-Bouhlel’s personal life seemed shaky as he was estranged from his three children and former wife.
Analysts said that the anti-terrorism operation in France is an uphill battle, as lone-wolf terrorists are a nightmare for the counterterrorism organizations, police and intelligence communities as they are extremely hard to detect and stop.
He said the family had taken Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel to a doctor who prescribed medication to counter his depression, but described his son as “always alone, always depressed” and not wanting to talk.
French prosecutor François Molins confirmed that Bouhlel was a delivery driver who had had brushes with the law since 2010.
The weapon used was a plank of wood against another driver after a traffic accident.
“Solidarity at such times is the most valuable thing we have”, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
No group has claimed responsibility for the carnage, but French officials called it an undeniable act of terror.
The rampage forced President Francois Hollande to call up military reserves and extend the state of emergency that he had meant to let lapse.
“A cowardly attack in a public place on a national day of celebration must be condemned in the strongest terms”, he said. One place to focus is prisons, he said, which were a major spur for the radicalisation of the assailants in the Charlie Hebdo and the November attacks in Paris a year ago.
“This is a new kind of attack, sickening and horrifying”.
The Londoner tweeted: “Running through crowds in Nice with kids and terrified”.
He added: “It’s unbelievable what has happened, and it’s devastating that France has been hit again and so many innocent people have been killed”. “They brought water for the injured and towels, which they placed on those for whom there was no more hope”. “All who cherish democracy will stand with them in the knowledge that our values will ultimately prevail in the face of such savagery”.
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A series of attacks in recent years have shown that radical jihadi networks are seemingly able to obtain guns, and even heavier automatic weapons, easily in France. “I don’t want this to change how we feel about France“, she said as she wiped away a tear from under her sunglasses.
