Metro Detroit Mourns Terror Attack in Nice, France

Embed from Getty Images

Metro Detroit, MI — Tears for France flowed Friday throughout Metro Detroit, which has a deep and long French history, after the Bastille Day terror attack in Nice, France.

Metro Detroit residents are encouraged to come together in a public vigil of solidarity with the people of France at a public vigil to be held at a Detroit Catholic Church Saturday in advance of pre-scheduled concert performance by the French Boys’ Choir, La Maitrise des Haunts de France, which is touring the United States.

The vigil at 6 p.m. at the historic Ste. Anne de Detroit Catholic Church, 1000 St. Anne St., in southwest Detroit, follows a Mass at 5 p.m. The French Boys’ Choir performance is at 6:30 p.m. The concert is free.

The choir also will perform at a bilingual French and English Mass held in celebration of the 2016 novena to Ste. Anne de Detroit at noon on Sunday, July 17 at noon.

NEWSLETTER & REAL-TIME NEWS ALERTS: Get the Top Michigan Headlines from Patch Editor Beth Dalbey

The Gothic Revival cathedral styled church, built in 1886 is one of the city’s most visible icons the French history of Metro Detroit. The Ste. Anne de Detroit parish was established by the city's founders in 1701, and it is the second-oldest continuously operating Roman Catholic parish in the United States.

Cedric Ballarin, president of the Michigan Chapter of the French American Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement Friday that its members share “in the mourning of this tragic and senseless loss of life in France.”

Also from the statement:

“We are stunned and deeply saddened by yet another direct attack on our lives, our liberty and our culture. Detroit and Michigan have a long and supportive history with France and we thank all of our Michigan friends, colleagues and business partners who are again expressing their support and compassion following this devastating incident.”

Ballarin plans to attend the mass, vigil and performance by the French Boys Choir on Saturday and expects it to soothe those mourning for France, The Oakland Press reported.

“I expect the choir to have uplifting songs,” said Ballari, who will attend the mass, vigil and performance on Saturday. “The human voice is the strongest instrument you can find.”

Ferndale resident Stephanie Salvadero, a French-American who is executive director of the local French American Chamber, told the Detroit Free Press that besides the area’s historic and economic ties to France, Metro Detroit is home to as many as 4,000 French families.

“It happened at home for a lot of us,” Salvadero said of the attack.

Embed from Getty Images

The death toll from the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, grew to more than 80 people Friday morning, including 10 children, French officials said, and at least 50 more people were “between life and death.” A truck loaded with bombs and other munitions plowed through a crowd that was celebrating the annual French holiday.

The attack during France’s national independence day celebration is the third major attack about 18 months. In November 2015, 130 people were killed and dozens were wounded in terrorist bombings across Paris. In January 2015, two brothers forced their way into the Paris offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hedbo in what was the beginning of three days of bloodshed across France’s capital city and its surrounding areas.

“It’s a reminder of our vulnerability,” Salvadero told the Free Press. “It can happen anytime, anywhere to anyone.”

Salvadero said it’s important not to allow terrorists to disrupt lives.

International Academy of Macomb Trip Still On

Jacqueline Conway, a French teacher from the International Academy of Macomb in Clinton Township who worked at a Nice elementary school as a college student, told the Free Press a trip with 10 French students is still on. The group leaves in 10 days.

The itinerary for the International Academy of Macomb trip is flexible enough that changes can be made if a guide there recommends it, and students won’t have as much free unsupervised time as they have in previous trips, which occur every couple of years.

“The terrorists want to instill fear,” Conway told the Free Press. “If you cancel your trip, you give in to that fear.”

One of the stops is Nice, where one of Conway’s students, a 17-year-old girl from Macomb Township, is studying. She was a couple of blocks away from the attack and was not injured, Conway told the newspaper.

Staff, Students in Nice Accounted For

Two faculty members and 18 Grand Valley State University studying abroad in Nice are safe, according to an email to the Detroit News from Dan Golembeski, an associate professor of modern languages and literatures, who is leading the program with his colleague, Carol Wilson, director of the school French Language and Culture program.

“All students are safe,” Golembeski wrote in the email Friday. “We’re working closely with them to make sure they have everything they need to be well through this difficult period, including access to counseling if needed. My colleague and I, and the students are doing well. Our hearts reach out to the people of Nice and France and from other countries who have loved ones who were not so fortunate.”

Wilson posted a message of reassurance on Facebook Thursday night:

“For those of you who have heard about the trouble in Nice tonight, all of the students, Dan and I are safe. There is still a lot of panic in the streets and some of the students are stuck in hotels, but no one is hurt. The situation is under control, according to the local news.”

One of the students, Jennifer Han, had been gone from the scene of the deadly attack for about 10 minutes when she saw a chaotic crowd running from the beach after gathering there for a Bastille Day fireworks display.

“We started running as fast as we could,” Han told WXYZ-TV. “We didn’t know what had happened.”

Embed from Getty Images

Images: Photo of Ste. Anne de Detroit by GollyGforce - Living My Worst Nightmare via Flickr / Creative Commons; images in France via Getty Images