Henry used his backpack to fight with a knife
Social media users and politicians called for him to be awarded the Légion d'honneur, Henri, who received the highest award of France, was to meet with Emmanuel Macron on Friday afternoon when he visited the victims in Grenoble and Annecy.
In an interview with CNews and BFMTV, he said: “What I know is that I don't there by chance on my path of cathedrals around France.
“I crossed a bloody path, and something inside me pushed me into action to protect the pure and innocent – these children under attack. I don't know [whether it was divine intervention]. I just felt a huge power inside me and a huge adrenaline rush. I found this attack on children completely intolerable and acted as best I could.”
Recounting about the scene, he said: “I saw this man from a distance and at first I thought it was a robbery. Then I realized very quickly that it was a real attack, and then I didn’t think, I rushed. Then everything is very vague in my head.
“I used everything I had to scare him and let him know he couldn't act the way he wanted, so I chased after him with my backpack. There were several of us, especially young people, whom I greet. So he ran out of the playground and into the Paquier park in Annecy.
“It was all very instinctive, almost animalistic. At some point, he turned to me and tried to stab me with a knife. I managed to avoid them and tried to hit him with my bag, which was a total failure. Naturally, at some point I was afraid for my life, but most of all I was afraid for the lives of others and did not want him to harm others.
“I chased him until the police opened fire and he was hit by motorcycle cops.”
Once this happened, he said that he immediately began to pray for the lives of the children. Henri brushed aside suggestions that overnight he became a national hero.
“I get a lot of letters of thanks, which touch me very much.
“Many people treat me like a national hero, which is a bit absurd for me, because I just did what all French people should do. If everyone did as I did, France would be a much safer country and we would have heroes around every corner. All you have to do is hold your head high and see what is great and good, draw inspiration from it and act accordingly.”
“He was possessed by evil”
The attacker, Abdelmasih H., is a Syrian. Christians, a group that has faced persecution. He shouted “In the name of Jesus Christ” twice in English and used a four-inch blade during the bloody attack.
Asked how a Christian could justify such actions, Henri said: “I don't know what he claims to believe, but I know that it is deeply un-Christian to speak out against completely unarmed, weak and innocent beings.” p>
“The Christian civilization on which our country is built is indeed based on the chivalrous call to protect the widow and the orphan. In truth, this is the true message of Christianity. And I don't understand how you can call yourself a Christian, but attack children. He was possessed by something deeply evil.”
The graduate said he received tremendous support and expressions of pride from his extended Catholic family.
Henri says it was 'no accident' that he was in the park when the horrific attack happened
It won the acclaim of politicians of all faiths, including the far right, some of whom, like Marine Le Pen, linked the attack to a “problem in the handling of immigration.”
“Focus on the essentials.” '
But he said he had no political leanings. “I am committed to what is beautiful. I am part of the youth who decided to focus on the essentials. In my testimony, I urge the French to focus on this and hold their heads high on what is great and good and draw inspiration from it,” he said.
Henri is on a nine-month tour of France. cathedrals and he talks about his visits on social media to his 80,000 followers.
“My desire is to show as many people as possible the beauty of our cathedrals in France with the aim of uniting us around these magnificent architectural monuments built by our ancestors who were imbued with greatness and from whom we should draw inspiration.
“Indeed, that is why I acted. I was inspired by the greatness of these cathedrals, which I have been visiting for more than two months.
At 18:00, a Catholic mass was to be held in Annecy Cathedral in memory of the victims.
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