He is the "backpacking hero". Henri, 24, intervened Thursday in front of a man who attacked several children on a playground in Annecy (Haute-Savoie). By his actions, he prevented the assailant from committing further acts by removing him from the play area, before he was neutralized.
"I acted really instinctively, I acted as any Frenchman would have done, I did everything to protect the weakest," he reacted Friday morning on CNews. "What I did, everyone could have done. I followed my instincts," explains Henri, who also has a degree in philosophy.
"It's very vague in my head"
Catholic, he had begun on March 25 a tour of France cathedrals and considers that he was not present on the scene "by chance": "I felt a great strength in me, it was intolerable that children were attacked in front of me, he stressed. Many people send me messages of support. I am thinking above all of the victims and their families, I hope that they are doing well, that they will make it. »
The young man then returned to his intervention, of which he keeps only "very blurred" memories: "I have not thought, it is very vague in my head, I have atrocious images, he recalled. He came out of kindergarten, he ran, we tried to scare him. I chased him until the police fired and he was subdued. »
Henri, the "hero with the backpack": "I acted instinctively. For me, it was unthinkable to stay doing nothing" in #HDPros pic.twitter.com/0F5fZjtxYe
— CNEWS (@CNEWS) June 9, 2023
Following his gesture, he "made a long statement of 3 hours, it was necessary to describe every second" to the investigators. In hindsight, he admits "having been afraid for his life, but especially for those of others". Henri finally announced that he should normally meet Emmanuel Macron "in the afternoon".