Before Nice Attack, Intelligence Agencies Had No Information on Perpetrator

Before he launched an attack in Nice, French intelligence agencies had no idea who Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel even was.

By , a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2015-2016 and was previously an editorial fellow.
NICE, FRANCE - JULY 15:  People lay flowers on La Promenade des Anglais' seafront in tribute to victims of yesterday's attack on July 15, 2016, in Nice France. A French-Tunisian attacker killed 84 people as he drove a lorry through crowds, gathered to watch a firework display during Bastille Day celebrations yesterday. The attacker then opened fire on people in the crowd before being shot dead by police. (Photo by Clément Mahoudeau/IP3/Getty Images)
NICE, FRANCE - JULY 15: People lay flowers on La Promenade des Anglais' seafront in tribute to victims of yesterday's attack on July 15, 2016, in Nice France. A French-Tunisian attacker killed 84 people as he drove a lorry through crowds, gathered to watch a firework display during Bastille Day celebrations yesterday. The attacker then opened fire on people in the crowd before being shot dead by police. (Photo by Clément Mahoudeau/IP3/Getty Images)
NICE, FRANCE - JULY 15: People lay flowers on La Promenade des Anglais' seafront in tribute to victims of yesterday's attack on July 15, 2016, in Nice France. A French-Tunisian attacker killed 84 people as he drove a lorry through crowds, gathered to watch a firework display during Bastille Day celebrations yesterday. The attacker then opened fire on people in the crowd before being shot dead by police. (Photo by Clément Mahoudeau/IP3/Getty Images)

Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, the man who intentionally drove a tractor-trailer into a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day in the southern French city of Nice and then opened fire on the crowd as he continued to plow down civilians, was entirely unknown to intelligence services before he launched the attack.

Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, the man who intentionally drove a tractor-trailer into a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day in the southern French city of Nice and then opened fire on the crowd as he continued to plow down civilians, was entirely unknown to intelligence services before he launched the attack.

Speaking at a press conference in France on Friday, Paris Prosecutor François Molins said the death toll had risen to 84 people and that another 52 are critically injured, with 25 of them were still in intensive care as of Friday morning. Ten of those killed were children, including one 11-year-old boy from Texas.

According to Molins, Bouhlel was a professional delivery truck driver who parked his vehicle near the site of the Bastille Day celebration in advance and then returned on a bicycle Thursday evening in order to launch the attack.

Bouhlel, who was born in Tunisia but lived in Nice, had a criminal history and was handed a six-month suspended sentence in January over a weapons charge. Despite his history with police, he was on absolutely no French watch list for terrorism or radicalization. He was identified after investigators found his identification and credit cards in the truck and matched his fingerprints to those already on file. His wife, whose name has not yet been released, was detained Friday morning.

Photo credit: Clément Mahoudeau/IP3/Getty Images

Siobhán O'Grady was a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2015-2016 and was previously an editorial fellow.

Read More On France | Terrorism

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.