France mourns the victims of the Nice attack

Church bells tolled across the country as France held a minute of silence on noon Monday to honor the victims of the Nice truck attack. Thousands gathered in the city at the site of the attack.

The attack will serve to "strengthen the resolve of international allies to combat violent extremism, " US Secretary of State John Kerry said in Brussels. But the lethal use of an easily obtainable vehicle as a weapon by a man who had no history of radicalization highlights the challenge intelligence and security officials face in stopping such attacks.

Holding a minute of silence is becoming a grimly familiar ritual after France's third big terror attack in 18 months. The Nice attack comes eight months after jihadists went on a killing spree across Paris, and 18 months after the terror attacks at the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine and a Jewish supermarket, also in Paris.

People's anger and frustration was palpable in some of the messages left among the many flowers and candles on the city's seafront: "Enough with the speeches" and "Sick of carnage in our streets".

Mourners laid flowers and candles on the bloodstained Promenade des Anglais to commemorate the victims of the grisly truck attack on Bastille Day. The attack left 84 people dead, and injured 308, many severely.

Many of the dead and injured were children watching the traditional Bastille day fireworks display with their families in the idyllic Mediterranean city. At least 10 children were struck and killed by the speeding vehicle.

France's interior minister says investigators have no evidence that the truck driver had links to terrorist networks. While the Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the Bastille Day attack, Bernard Cazeneuve said on Monday the driver may have merely been motivated by IS messages. He was not previously linked to jihadist groups.

The victims were random, and included tourists from France and abroad, locals, students and teachers, young and old out for a stroll on a balmy summer evening. Vigils and tributes were held around the world.