A small but emotional gathering took place Thursday night outside the French consulate in San Francisco, just hours after the deadly attack in Nice, France.
Far from home, French nationals here in the Bay Area are once again expressing pain and sorrow after a terrorist attack.
"It's the third time," said Maiwenn Regnault, of San Francisco. "My brother lives in Nice. I was like, damn, that could be him."
The Bastille Day attack, in which a truck plowed through crowds of people celebrating on the streets of Nice, killed at least 80 people.
"I have goose bumps thinking about what happened today," said Olivier Azancot, of Cafe Bastille in San Francisco. "Most of them are kids watching fireworks, trying to enjoy the night."
Azancot has been throwing a Bastile Day party at the cafe on Belden Place for the past 25 years. With the reality of the attack setting in, Thursday's event didn't feel like much of a celebration.
"When is it gonna stop? Azancot said. "That's the question. What can we do to make it stop?"
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Emile Lacampagne, of San Francisco, could barely find words: "My heart drops," he said. "Terrible."
