​(Communicated by the President's Spokesperson)
 
President Reuven Rivlin this morning (Friday, 15 July 2016) sent a letter of condolence to President Francois Hollande of France following the mass casualty terrorist attack in Nice.
 
President Rivlin wrote, "It is with pain and sorrow that I must once again write and express my deepest condolences, and those of all the Israeli people, following the horrific terror attack in Nice.
 
"La Fête Nationale, France’s national celebration marks the beginning of the French Revolution, an event crucial to European and world history and the rise of the modern values which today we all hold dear; liberty, equality, and democracy. The vile threat of terrorism is an affront to these values, and its perpetrators murder and maim indiscriminately in pursuit of their barbaric ideology of hate.
 
"Israel stands with France and the Israeli people stand with the French people, shoulder to shoulder in the face of this terrible evil, as should the whole free world. We must work united to reach the terrorists, their supporters and backers, wherever they may hide. We will never give up. As you said, we are stronger than the fanatics who seek to harm us."
 
He concluded, "Please convey our deepest sympathies to the families of those killed, and know that we pray for a speedy recovery for all the injured."