Nice firefighters receive emotional tribute during memorial march marking 10 years since Bastille Day attack
Firefighters who responded to the 2016 Nice attack received an emotional tribute during a memorial march marking the tragedy's 10th anniversary.
Firefighters in Nice were met with sustained applause and heartfelt expressions of gratitude on Sunday as hundreds of people took part in a memorial march marking the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Bastille Day truck attack.
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Around a dozen firefighters from the Magnan fire station, the first unit deployed to the scene on the night of the attack, stood along the Promenade des Anglais as participants passed by.
Many paused to applaud, thank them and acknowledge their role in responding to one of France's deadliest terrorist attacks.
Lieutenant Frédéric Dal-Pont, who was among the first responders a decade ago, said the tribute had been deeply moving and unexpected.
He stressed that firefighters had simply tried to save as many lives as possible under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
"We did our job in very particular conditions," he said, adding that the firefighters had come to honour the victims rather than be recognised themselves.
The memorial march, organised with local victims' associations, opened three days of commemorations in Nice to remember the 86 people killed in the 14 July 2016 attack and to pay tribute to the victims, survivors and emergency services who responded that night.