A FEW days before the Nice attack we were sitting in the open air bar of the Hotel Negressco, looking out over the Promenade des Anglais and watching families, friends and couples of all ages and nationalities strolling home from their evenings out, writes regional editor GARY LAWRENCE.

Days before that we had been in the same spot watching thousands celebrate France's victory over Germany in the semi-final of Euro 2016.

The promenade has always been a place of happiness and elegance. Its splendid hotels, restaurants, casinos and apartment buildings look out over a sparkling sea and has been backdrop for fun and enjoyment for 200 years.

But on Thursday night that perfect vista was forever tainted by a cold-hearted, calculated act of mass murder. The place will never be the same again.

It breaks my heart to think of the people who had been out enjoying themselves finding themselves in the path of this vile atrocity, committed in the name of a religion that has disowned it.

How many of those victims had served us in the bars or restaurants? How many of the families had we walked past or sat next to in a restaurant?

Questions are already being asked about how it could have been allowed to happen. While we were there we had noticed how many more armed policemen and soldiers there were on the streets compared to previous visits. This was obviously because of Euro 2016 but Bastille Day was always going to be another huge gathering.

Had the country let its guard down once the football was over?

The awful, chilling truth is that if someone is evil and twisted enough to take a truck and drive it at innocent people, who can stop it?

This atrocity will leave an indelible stain on a beautiful city but I know that its people are resilient.

Nice will never forget but it will dance and laugh and celebrate again. The terrorists will not win.