Malian ‘hero’ who saved lives during Paris attacks to get French citizenship

A Malian man who has been described as a hero for saving several hostages during the Paris attacks last week will be awarded French nationality.

Lassana Bathily, who has lived in France since 2006, is set to be granted citizenship during a ceremony on Jan. 20, Agence France-Presse reported. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised Bathily for his “bravery” in a statement, according to AFP.

Bathily, a 24-year-old Muslim man,  was working at the Kosher market in the Porte de Vincennes suburb of Paris when suspected gunman terrorist Amedy Coulibaly attacked — just days after the shootings at the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

READ MORE: Muslim man Lassana Bathily hailed for life-saving courage during Paris siege

Several customers credited Bathily with saving their lives.

Bathily told several of the store’s customers to go into a freezer in the basement for protection and then shut off the refrigeration system.

“I heard shots and I saw my colleagues and clients running down,” Bathily told AFP. “I told them ‘Come, come,’ (and) got them into the freezer.”

Bathily managed to escape the store, flag down police and provide them information on the layout of the store, helping end the siege.

READ MORE: France arrests 54 after Paris attacks; new issue of ‘Charlie Hebdo’ sells out

Coulibaly murdered four people inside the store, before being killed in a shootout with police.

Bathily’s heroic acts quickly spread through media reports, with thousands signing a petition to grant Bathily French citizenship and award him the Legion of Honour.

In an interview with BFMTV, Bathily said during a time of crisis helping others comes before religion.

“Yes, I aided Jews,” he said. “We’re brothers. It’s not a question of Jews, Christians, or Muslims. We’re all in the same boat. We need to help each other to get out of this crisis.”