François Hollande and Bernard Cazeneuve at the trial of the Nice attack on October 10

Former head of state François Hollande and his interior minister at the time, Bernard Cazeneuve, will testify on October 10 at the trial of the Nice attack in 2016, the president of the court announced on Tuesday September 6. Paris Special Assizes, Laurent Raviot. François Hollande and Bernard Cazeneuve, quoted by a civil party lawyer, should testify in the afternoon.

On the morning of October 10, the court will hear François Molins, public prosecutor at the court of cassation, one of the highest magistrates in France, also cited at the bar by a civil party lawyer. François Hollande, Bernard Cazeneuve and François Molins had already testified at the bar of the special assize court during the trial of the November 13 attacks. The former president had notably defended the “France’s commitment to the fight against Islamist terrorism in Mali, Iraq and Syria», in particular against the Islamic State (IS) organization.

Estrosi also at the helm

IS claimed responsibility for the Nice attack, a claimopportunisticaccording to investigators. No direct link has been found between Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, the driver of the truck that mowed down the crowd gathered on the Promenade des Anglais on the evening of July 14, 2016, causing the death of 86 people, and the jihadist group. “Even if we feared them, we were not prepared for attacks of such magnitude“, had for his part testified François Molins, prosecutor of Paris at the time of the attack.

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The mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi as well as the one who occupied these functions during the facts, Philippe Pradal, will be heard on October 20, said Laurent Raviot. These two hearings were not planned until now. The two politicians will be heard under the discretionary power of the president of the special assize court, and will therefore not have to take an oath.