French citizens living in Montreal gathered to celebrate Bastille Day at l’Union Française, but festivities quickly turned to sheer devastation.
At least 84 people were killed in Nice, France after a man drove a truck at high speed into a crowd of people celebrating the French national holiday, leaving a trail of bodies along the city’s main waterfront road.
READ MORE: Dramatic video shows police shooting at truck to end deadly attack
Many more people were wounded and the death toll is expected to rise.
In Montreal, people gathered to sing the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, in solidarity.
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“The further away from France, the more you love it,” Frédéric Lefebvre, a member of France’s national assembly, told Global News.
“The more France hurts, the worst we feel.”
READ MORE: French mother reunited with her missing baby thanks to frantic Facebook post
Union Française president Jean Isseri insisted an inclusive attitude will help the country heal and move forward.
“We have to learn to live together, all together, to share the same objective, the same community action that promote better quality of life,” he said.
READ MORE: Nice, France attack kills at least 84: ‘Carnage on the road. Bodies everywhere’
Isseri mourns the latest attack – – the third in France in 18 months.
Last November, terrorists attacked several targets in Paris including Le Bataclan concert hall.
In January 2015, several gunmen killed journalists at the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, in Paris.
WATCH BELOW: Deadly attacks in Nice
“We have to be vigilant and to be present and to fight intellectually and physically against it,” said Isseri.
“Be aware, not be to be naïve about what is happening now because it’s not going to be stopped.”
READ MORE: At least 84 dead after truck attack in Nice, France
The French consulate estimates there are 30,000 French citizens currently living in Quebec.
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