Four others arrested previously were still being held.
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Investigators say they are yet to find evidence that he pledged allegiance to radical groups or had contact with known extremists, although Islamic State have claimed responsibility for the attack.
The student, who would not give his name, told the Press Association: “It was all about helping identify and move bodies, dead bodies”.
Some 30,000 people had thronged the palm tree-lined Promenade des Anglais on Thursday night to watch a fireworks display, but only 50 municipal police officers and 62 national police officers were on duty, according to sources.
NICE, FRANCE-The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility on Saturday for an attack in which a Tunisian drove a truck through a crowd in Nice, killing 84, prompting hard questions in France over security failures.
A French official says the estranged wife of truck driver has been released from custody.
“He didn’t pray, he didn’t fast, he drank alcohol and even used drugs”, he said.
Valls has suggested the killer may have been radicalised too quickly to trigger the authorities’ attention.
ISIL said it carried out the attack in response to calls to target civilians in countries that are part of a coalition fighting ISIL.
Dozens more were hurt and 19 people remain on life support five days after the carnage that prosecutor Francois Molins described as terrorist.
Joggers, bikers and sunbathers cruised down the pedestrian walkway along the glistening Mediterranean Sea on Sunday, where well-wishers placed flowers, French flags, stuffed animals and candles for the victims.
The French National Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to extend the national state of emergency declared after the November attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people, for another six months.
A woman asked if she could put a yellow potted plant there, unaware of the significance of the spot. The man was “entirely unknown by the intelligence services, whether nationally or locally”, French prosecutor François Molins said. An argument ensued, with other passers-by saying that his family deserved respect.
Speaking in Tunisia, Jabeur Bouhlel claimed his brother had telephoned him hours before the rampage and sent a selfie among the crowds.
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He was shot dead by police when his vehicle’s path along the Promenade des Anglais was eventually halted.
