President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday hailed two Frenchmen who helped repel a knife attack that killed six people at a shopping centre in Sydney, calling them “real heroes”, French media reported.
“Two of our compatriots behaved like real heroes,” the French president said on Tuesday, adding that he was “very proud and grateful.”
In his post on X, Macron replied to France’s Ambassador to Australia Pierre-André Imbert, who revealed the names of the two people and thanked them for their bravery.
“During last weekend’s horrendous attack in Sydney, two of our countrymen, Silas Despreaux and Damien Guerot showed great courage in trying to stop the attacker,” Imbert tweeted.
“I thanked them on behalf of France and we will soon have the opportunity to express our collective gratitude to them,” he said.
Grabbing a bollard, Guerot confronted Joel Cauchi, preventing the 40-year-old attacker from reaching more victims.
“This is someone who we would welcome becoming an Australian citizen, although that would of course be a loss for France,” Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Five women and a security guard were killed in an attack at Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre on Saturday. Twelve people were injured, most of them women. Senior police officers said they were investigating the possibility that the attacker specifically targeted women.
