French PM booed at Nice tribute

Shouts of “Murderers!” and “Resign!” rang out as Valls and two ministers left the seafront where a huge crowd gathered to remember the 84 people mowed down on July 14 by truck driver Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, an AFP reporter said.

Emotions in France have been running high since the 31-year-old Tunisian rammed a 19-tonne truck into a crowd leaving a fireworks display, leaving a trail of crumpled bodies in his wake.

Opposition parties have accused the Socialist government of not doing enough to prevent the third major attack in France in 18 months.

The government has attempted to fend off the criticism, saying that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel had no known links to jihadist networks and claiming he became radicalised only recently. Centre-right opposition leader Nicolas Sarkozy accused the government of failing to provide security.

This handout picture taken by a drone and released by the City of Nice yesterday shows a general view of the Jardin ALbert 1er and the promenade des Anglais crowded as thousands gather to observe a minute of silence in Nice. France fell silent yesterday for the victims of the Nice truck attack, but the mourning was overshadowed by politicians tearing into each other over the massacre. Photo: AFP

Sarkozy, a former president, called for any foreign nationals with links to radical Islam to be expelled from France.

Neighbours have described Lahouaiej-Bouhlel as a violent loner who liked to drink, lift weights and go salsa dancing, reports BBC.

Valls has suggested the killer may have been radicalised too quickly to trigger the authorities’ attention.