President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to two French men for their heroic efforts during the Bondi stabbing massacre.
Six people – including five women and a security guard – were killed during Joel Cauchi’s rampage at Bondi Junction Westfield on Saturday afternoon.
Cauchi, 40, was shot dead by police Inspector Amy Scott.
French national Damien Guerot has been hailed as a hero for confronting the knifeman on an escalator, using a bollard to prevent him from reaching an upper level of the shopping centre where shoppers desperately ran to safety.
His friend Silas Despreaux also blocked Cauchi from reaching a section of the centre where children were playing.
In a post shared to social media on Tuesday night, Macron described the men as “true heroes”.
“Condolences to the Australians struck by an attack in a shopping center (sic) in Sydney on Saturday,” he wrote in French to X – formerly known as Twitter.
“Two of our compatriots behaved like true heroes. Very great pride and recognition.”
The post quoted a post from Ambassador of France to Australia Pierre-Andre Imbert who said the men showed “great courage” during the deadly incident.
“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,” he wrote.
“I thanked them on behalf of France and we will soon have the opportunity to express our collective gratitude to them.”
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed he offered Mr Guerot his assistance with obtaining a visa to stay in Australia.
“I say this to Damien Guerot, who is dealing with his visa applications, that you are welcome here,” he told reporters.
“You are welcome to stay for as long as you like.”