Victims of conflicts all over the world, from the Philippines and Pakistan to Iran and Turkey, were remembered by Galway's French honorary consul Catherine Gagneux during a solidarity walk for the victims of the Nice attack.
“We cannot get used to this,”Ms Gagneux said, addressing several hundred participants on Salthill’s promenade on Saturday.
Mayor of Galway Cllr Noel Larkin and several hundred people participated in the event, aimed at extending sympathy from Salthill’s seafront to Nice’s Promenade des Anglais.
Ms Gagneux bore a French flag, signed with messages of sympathy from the people of Galway which will be sent to the mayor of Nice next week.
“We need to continue showing how different nations can be happy together and work together,”she said, quoting the belief of late South African leader Nelson Mandela that “education is the most powerful weapon”.
Referring to this being the third attack on France in the past 15 months, she said " this is too many times, and we want to make sure that this does not become the normality".
Countries like the Philippines, Pakistan, Iran, Somalia, Afghanistan, Libya, Nigeria, Mali, Kenya, Syria,Yemen India, Turkey were also experiencing attacks, and "we can't just get used to that", she said.
“This is not something we want to leave as a legacy for the young people that are around here today and our families,”Ms Gagneux said.
“ Obviously when I heard the news, it was with mixed feelings, because it happened on July 14th which is a very significant day for the French people,”she said.
" It's our national day, it's Bastille Day and that's where we celebrate the core values of our nation, the core values that many other countries in the world have actually adopted as well,"she said.
“We need to honour and glorify those values again today,”she said.
“ When I heard the news, my blood was boiling for revenge and saying that we can’t let that happen again,”she said.
“But the type of revenge that I am looking for is not a violent one, it is one where we need to seek for justice, for more dialogue, for more acceptance of each other’s cultures and differences. And certainly violence is not the way to do it,”she said.
“Walking in peace and working dialogue is something we need to carry on doing,”Ms Gagneux said, stressing the positive aspects of Galway securing the European Capital of Culture title for 2020 and the success of the European football championships in France.
“I hope not to see you again soon,”she said, thanking the participants.
Mayor Larkin said that the 2020 title was about “trying to build a culture across Europe”, and it was ironic that the announcement was made the day after an attempt to “destroy that culture in France”.
Expressing his sympathies to the victims and injured , Cllr Larkin said that one could only imagine the impact of a similar event on the Salthill promenade, where families gathered regularly.
“Not just as Irish, but as Europeans, we must fight back against atrocities,”he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that it is no longer concerned about a Galway man who was initially reported to have been critically injured in the Nice attack on Thursday night.
It is understood that the man, who has been living in London but has family in Galway, is safe and unharmed.
It is understood that incorrect information was reported to authorities in Galway on Friday morning, and the inaccuracy only became evident late on Friday night after liaison by gardaí with the family.
The Garda Press Office said it had “no information” on the situation,and that it was a matter for the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The Department of Foreign Affairs acknowledged in a statement that it had “particular concerns relating to one case”, but that “following intensive follow-up” it was “now satisfied that there is no longer cause for concern in that case”.
