EU expreses solidarity with France after Nice attack

European Union leaders expressed solidarity with France on Thursday following the Nice terrorist attack as they met via video conference to discuss the ongoing struggle to contain the coronavirus.

European Council President Charles Michel began the meeting by offering Europe's solidarity against the terrorist attacks in France.

Speaking via video link, Michel said: "It is about democratic values and freedoms. It is about the rule of law and I think I can say on behalf of everybody that we are united and gathered to defend these values which unite us."

A man armed with a knife attacked people inside a French church and killed three Thursday, prompting the government to raise its security alert status to the maximum level hours before a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

The attack in Mediterranean city of Nice was the third in two months in France that authorities have attributed to Muslim extremists, including the beheading of a teacher.

It comes after caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad were republished in recent months by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo - renewing debate in France and the Muslim world over the depictions that Muslims consider offensive but are protected by French free speech laws.

This story has not been edited by www.republicworld.com and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.