Police didn't stop truck in Nice horror, attacker drove on for 4 mins – French media

Police in Nice did not stop the truck in the attack in July that killed 86 people, as the vehicle appears to have stalled, according to a French TV program, which also claims the killer actually drove on for four minutes – not 45 seconds, as the authorities had stated.

The previously known official version was undermined by new revelations by the ‘Quotidien’ program, aired on France’s TMC channel on Thursday night. In the program, journalist Azzeddine Ahmed-Chaouch uncovered the minutes of a police probe into the attack that happened on Bastille Day, July 14, and claimed the lives of 86 people, leaving a further 434 injured.

The police didn’t stop the truck, the journalist said, claiming that the vehicle had instead braked.

This is at odds with the version of the events presented by French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, who said at the end of July, “the available security allowed national police to intercept the truck and put an end to its deadly drive.”

In contrast, the minutes of the meeting cited by Quotidien say: “at 22 hours 35 minutes and 46 seconds, we state that the truck pulled the brakes. It didn’t continue driving.”

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Another contradiction reported by Quotidien was the duration of the drive. Hours after the attack, the president of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Christian Estrosi, stated, “Between the moment when the terrorist penetrated into the forbidden zone, and the moment when he was killed, 45 seconds passed.”

However, according to Quotidien, police using surveillance footage established that the driver continued for 4 minutes 17 seconds.

The footage also reportedly showed that there was only one police vehicle that evening on the Promenade des Anglais, thus confirming earlier revelations by the French newspaper Liberation.

The Quotidien report has prompted outrage online, with some calling on certain officials to step down.

“Following the revelations, Estrosi and Cazeneuve should resign, and fast,” one Twitter user wrote.

“We are used to the lies by Estrosi and Cazeneuve. But bravo guys, you’ve made a strong case,” another user posted, praising the journalists who revealed the new details.

“How many more lies?” another user wrote.