Minute of silence before France v Spain World Cup semi-final to mark 10th anniversary of Nice attack
President Macron announced that a minute of silence will be observed before Tuesday's World Cup semi-final between France and Spain, honoring the 86 victims of the 2016 Nice truck attack on its 10th anniversary.
A minute of silence will be held before the France-Spain World Cup semi-final on Tuesday, 14 July 2026, in memory of the 86 people killed and more than 400 injured in the Nice truck attack exactly ten years earlier. The tribute was secured after a request by Nice mayor Éric Ciotti, relayed by the French Football Federation (FFF) and accepted by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The request for remembrance
Mayor Éric Ciotti first asked FIFA on Friday, 10 July, to observe a minute of silence before the semi-final, which falls on the anniversary of the 14 July 2016 attack. The FFF, under president Philippe Diallo, then formally relayed the request to FIFA. Diallo stressed that the match “will carry a very special significance for our nation.”
The president of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, has just informed me that FIFA has accepted that a minute of silence be held at the start of the World Cup semi-final France – Spain.
FIFA’s acceptance and Macron’s announcement
On Monday, 13 July, President Emmanuel Macron confirmed on X that Infantino had granted the request. Macron wrote that the tribute would be observed in memory of the victims, a decade after the attack, and thanked the FIFA president for responding to “the demand of France and all the French people who mobilized.” The minute of silence will take place just before kick-off at 21:00.
Before France-Spain, a minute of silence will be observed in tribute to the victims of the Nice attack, ten years after 14 July 2016. Thank you to the FIFA President for responding to the demand of France and all the French people who mobilized. We will never forget.
A day of commemoration in Nice
Macron will preside over a ceremony in Nice at 18:00 on Tuesday. Afterwards, a drone show featuring 2,016 drones will take place on the Promenade des Anglais, the site of the 2016 attack. The events form part of the 10th-anniversary commemoration of the tragedy, in which a truck driven by Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel ploughed through crowds celebrating Bastille Day, killing 86 people and wounding over 400.
A high-stakes semi-final
France and Spain will meet in a World Cup semi-final on a day charged with national significance. The match kicks off at 21:00 local time, with a moment of silence now part of the pre-match ceremony.
- Truck attack on Promenade des Anglais kills 86 and injures more than 400.
- Mayor Éric Ciotti requests a minute of silence from FIFA, relayed by FFF president Philippe Diallo.
- President Macron announces FIFA’s acceptance of the minute of silence on X.
- Macron leads a ceremony in Nice on the attack’s 10th anniversary.
- Minute of silence observed before the France–Spain World Cup semi-final.
