Five to appear in court in connection with Nice attack

Five people arrested in connection with the Nice terror attack are to appear in court in Paris today (21 July).

The four men and one woman, aged between 22 and 40, were held for questioning after Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove a truck into a crowd which had gathered to watch a Bastille Day fireworks display, killing 84 people.

Among those to appear are a 40-year-old long-time associate of Bouhlel, and a 38-year-old Albanian man and his girlfriend, arrested on suspicion of providing Bouhlel with an automatic pistol, AFP reported.

A 22-year-old man who Bouhlel texted before launching the attack will also appear in court, along with a man accused of being in contact with Bouhlel regarding weapons.

None were known to French intelligence ahead of the attack, officials have said.

It comes with the French Senate set to extend the country's state of emergency, with the attack the third terrorist atrocity in France in the space of 18 months.

The State of Emergency was imposed after the 13 November Paris attack in which Islamic State militants killed 130 people. It gives French police extended powers to carry out searches, and place people under house arrest.