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, attorney general at the court of cassation, one of the highest magistrates in France, also called to 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 "
commitment of France in 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, an "
opportunistic
" claim according 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
,” testified François Molins, Paris prosecutor at the time of the attack.
Read alsoAt the opening of the Nice attack trial, sparse benches and ubiquitous “frustration”
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.