BUDAPEST, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian officials in both government and opposition voiced their shock and anger on Friday responding to the terrorist attack in Nice, France, on Thursday night which saw 84 people die and hundreds injured when a truck plowed into pedestrians watching a Bastille Day fireworks display. President Janos Ader's telegram to French President Francois Hollande called the mass killing a merciless terrorist attack. He voiced his condolences to the families of the victims and sympathy for the injured in his own name and that of the Hungarian people.
France can continue to count on the support of its friends, including Hungary in combating the forces of terror and destruction, he wrote.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban sent a telegram of sympathy to Hollande, calling the attack shocking and inacceptable. He expressed his sympathy with the French people and the families of the dead and voiced Hungary's support "in these difficult hours."
Speaker of Parliament Laszlo Kover sent a telegram of sympathy to Claude Bartolone, President of the French National Assembly and Gerard Larcher, President of the Senate, voicing his sorrow over the Thursday night bloodbath. He said that the entire Hungarian parliament was in complete solidarity with France in combating the instigators, financers, and operatives responsible for international terrorism.
Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said that the cabinet was expressing its sympathy with the people and government of France.
The Interior Ministry issued a statement underlining that the terrorism threat to Hungary had not increased although several additional safety measures had been implemented at the request of the prime minister.
The opposition left wing MSZP said there could be no explanation for the depraved attack that took the lives of innocent people. The attack, it wrote, was also an assault on a free and unified Europe.
The opposition left of center Egyutt party condemned the attack, calling it an offensive against all of Europe. It called for a speedy identification of the perpetrators and a response by the entire international community.
Another left wing party, Dialogue for Hungary, said that cool-headed professionalism and stamina were required to protect European values.
The opposition far right Jobbik party issued a statement announcing the party's sympathy for the relatives of the dead and wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
The city of Szeged, a sister-city of Nice, has raised a black flag of mourning over its city hall because of the shocking attack on Nice. Enditem