Nice copes with shock after attack

Jessica Orsini is standing in the souvenir shop where she works. It lies just a few meters away from the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, where Thursday night 84 people lost their lives in a terrorist attack.

She has just received a postcard from one of the families that took shelter in her shop that night, and she's reading it out loud to her younger brother, Jeremy: "Just thank you for all your support in this difficult moment. Please take care. Hugo, Christine, Solène and Gérard."

The 23-year-old Jessica was working alone the evening of July 14, when a truck drove a crowd of people who had come watch the fireworks for the Bastille Day. She was about to close the shop, when suddenly 20 to 30 people came running inside.

"Right then I had no idea what was happening," Jessica says. "People told me that there was a terror attack going on, that we had to hide, to switch off the lights and block the door, because there was a shooting."

She let the people inside and tried to calm them down. She says there were families with children, mothers with their babies and elderly people. They stayed inside for about an hour without knowing when the nightmare was going to end.

Chaos on the promenade

Jeremy, Jessica's brother, was watching the fireworks that night, close to where the truck stopped. He remembers the shootings and the crowd suddenly running on the promenade. He sought refuge at the beach. When he returned to the promenade, he saw the horror.

"I saw what happened, all the dead bodies…" Jeremy doesn't finish his sentence.

Father Pascal Orsini has come to visit his children from Cannes, about 30 km from Nice. The night of the attack he didn't sleep. He spent it all with his kids on the phone, chain smoking and drinking coffee to stay awake.

When he recalls the night, his voice is shaky. He taps nervously on his lap.

"I first heard it from my nephew," the elder Orsini says. "Then I got a message from my daughter saying, there are terrorists. I was just waiting for news, there was nothing else for me to do."

Jessica leans towards her father.

"It's scary," Pascal says. "For us parents, it's so scary. Our children have to live with this new threat. It's painful. I feel like life used to be so much easier. It's really sad."

The siblings share an apartment in Nice. They were lucky that they could turn to each other for support that night.

City mourns the violence

Around Nice, many more are trying to cope with the shock. The municipality has set up reception centers to give the citizens psychological help.

Christène Bedmart is from Nice. She and her mother sought assistance in one of the centers on the Promenade. "I tried to make it through the day by doing normal things, but then at night all the pictures came back and I realized how shocked I was."

Coming out of her appointment, Ms Bedmart says she will treasure what the doctors told her: "That you can't predict something like this. That we have to live for those who are not here anymore, and would have like to be here. We were lucky to survive and we have to carry on."

Everyone in Nice will have to find their way of moving forward. For the Orsini family, being close to each other is the only way to cope.

"I cannot be alone right now," says Jeremy, as he looks at his father and sister. "As soon as I leave the house I need to call someone. I need to be with my family, that helps. There I feel safe and loved. That's what I need right now."

Revisiting the scene of the attack

After some hesitation, the family decides to walk together to the Promenade des Anglais. The way along the sea is a patchwork of candles, messages and flowers. Every few meters people are sobbing and hugging each other. Some are shaking their heads, still unable to believe what happened.

For father Orsini it's the first time on the promenade after the attack. He did not want to come, but his children convinced him to try. As they approach one of the memorials, Jessica grabs her father's hand.

"Being here, I actually realize what happened," says Pascal. "I see all the pictures in my head. I don't want to stay long, it's too painful."

At night Pascal will return to Cannes, where he lives. The family usually reunites every few months, but after what happened in Nice, Jessica and Jeremy need their father on their side. They know he will come back very soon.