PARIS — Vacationers in the French Riviera city of Cannes have been banned from bringing big bags to the beach for security reasons in hopes of deterring a terrorist attack.

Cannes Mayor David Lisnard says the restriction seeks to stop “bags that could contain explosives or weapons and allows police forces to intervene in a pragmatic way.”

Lisnard said Thursday that the ban on large backpacks, suitcases and other luggage would run until at least the end of October.

His decision comes two weeks after a Tunisian man used a truck to kill 84 people celebrating Bastille Day on the waterfront in Nice, 33 kilometres (21 miles) northeast of Cannes, and two days after a Catholic priest was killed while celebrating Mass in Normandy, northern France.