#PrayforNice: The web is fed up
July 15, 2016
French star DJ David Guetta was quick to share his solidarity with the victims of the Nice attack, in which at least 80 people were killed when a truck plowed into a crowd watching a fireworks display on what was France's national holiday.
Guetta, whose single "This One's For You" was just recently the official anthem of the 2016 Euro Cup, hosted by France, wrote on Instagram early Friday morning: "All of our thoughts go to #Nice this evening and to France, a country of love; I still want to believe that."
Popstar Rihanna was in a hotel near the scene in Nice when the attack occurred. She was scheduled to perform Friday in the southern French city, but the concert was cancelled, along with the Nice Jazz Festival, set to begin Saturday.
"Due to the tragic events in Nice, my concert scheduled for tomorrow July 15 at Allianz Stadium will not be going ahead as planned. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families," wrote Rihanna on Instagram late Thursday.
Also from France, renowned illustrator Plantu responded with a simply but moving image, which went viral:
After the extremist attacks on the Charlie Hebdo editorial offices in January 2015, in Paris in November 2015, in Brussels in March 2016, as well as several in Turkey over the past year, the social media community has a routine. On Twitter, illustrations in the national colors of the victim country are posted and hashtags along the lines of #Prayfor[insert city] and #jesuis[insert city].
Here, DW's Elizabeth Shoo sums up some blue, white and red images being tweeted and retweeted in solidarity.
But this time, a sentiment of anger, frustration and, most of all, futility, could be felt strongly on Twitter with posts like these:
The frequency of recent attacks weighed heavy on those posting reactions.
Jokes about trucks - which was the weapon used Thursday in Nice - having no religion and anti-immigrant sentiments were also rampant on Twitter.
Nevertheless, other users urged people to stay strong in their shows of support and not give up.
"Peace will win, fear will lose" was a popular slogan making its way through the internet early Friday morning.
And - in a play on the #jesuis meme and the name of the affected city - one French Canadian journalist kept it simple: