Mayor John Tory says he has reached out to the French Consulate in Toronto to express his profound sympathies in the wake of a deadly attack in the coastal city of Nice.
A total of 84 people were killed and 202 others were wounded when a Tunisian man drove a truck through large crowds that were leaving a Bastille Day fireworks display in the French city on Thursday night.
The attack ended only after police fatally shot the driver of the truck. A motive for the attack is not yet clear.
“It is one of these things where you wake up in the morning and hear it and just can’t believe it has happened,” Tory told CP24 on Friday. “My heart goes out to the people of France and to the French community here. I just hope again that we can find a way to live in this world without this kind of thing going on.”
City council held a moment of silence for the victims of the Nice attack on Friday morning and plans are afoot to light the Toronto sign in the colours of France’s flag tonight.
A vigil will also be held at Nathan Phillips Square, beginning at 6 p.m.
“These are small things you do. You know that the people of France don’t know that Toronto city council is having a moment of silence but we know that we’ve done it. It is a genuine gesture as is the lighting of the sign and as is the vigil,” Tory said. “It is us just showing our solidarity with the French people and all people who just completely reject these kind of acts.”
Tory said that tonight will be the third time that the Toronto sign has been lit red, white and blue in commemoration of a deadly attack in France.
“It’s almost unthinkable that that could happen,” he said.
Canada’s ambassador to France has said that no Canadians have been identified among the dead in Nice at this point.
