Macron salutes French ‘heroes’ who intervened in Sydney stabbings

Emmanuel Macron praised two Frenchmen who stepped in during a knife attack that left six people dead at a Sydney shopping mall on Saturday.

“Two of our compatriots behaved like real heroes,” the French president said Tuesday, adding that he was “very proud and grateful.”

In his post on X, formerly Twitter, 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,” tweeted Imbert.

“I thanked them on behalf of France and we will soon have the opportunity to express our collective gratitude to them,” he said.

The Australian government also announced it would grant permanent residency to Damien Guerot for “extraordinary bravery” after video footage showed him confronting the attacker.

Five women and a security guard were killed in the attack at the Westfield Bondi Junction mall on Saturday. Twelve people were wounded, most of whom were female.

Senior police officers said they were investigating the possibility the attacker had specifically targeted women.