French PM booed during moment of silence in Nice
Valls dismisses calls for resignation as 'attitude of a minority' of coastal city recently rocked by deadly truck attack
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Monday was booed by crowds during a ceremony in Nice for the victims of the Bastille Day truck attack, later calling the jeers “disgraceful.”
Valls said the boos and calls for him to resign reflected the “attitude of a minority” in the city run by the opposition Republicans party.
Shouts of “Murderers!” and “Resign!” rang out as Valls and two ministers left the seafront where a huge crowd gathered for a minute’s silence to remember the 85 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-ton 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 radicalized only recently.
