His name is Henri d’Anselme. This Thursday, June 8, this 24-year-old former scout leader became the hero of an entire nation by interposing himself between the attacker from Annecy and potential young victims.
A graduate student in philosophy and international management, he avoided the balance sheet being worse than what it is now. The man with the knife had already injured six people, including four children aged 22 months to 3 years, in a city park, sowing fear.
But Henri, armed with two huge backpacks, chased Abdalmasih H. near the Jardins de l’Europe, where the tragedy took place.
These funny bags, he had them on his back because this claimed Catholic has been doing a “tour of France of cathedrals” for a little over two months, which he documents daily on social networks.
He began his nine-month journey in the abbey of Barroux.
Manhunt in Annecy
His act of bravery, too, ended up on the networks: thousands of people saluted the courage of this young man, ready to run after an armed man, while many passers-by could not, knew or wanted to do anything. .
The deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes Eric Ciotti, among other political and public figures, paid tribute to him.
Sunglasses, pants and black t-shirt, we see Henri, very calm, first walking, then shedding one of the bags to run towards the man, who claimed “Syrian Christian during his arrest, and would have said to act “in the name of Jesus”.
Two diametrically opposed conceptions of religion for the two protagonists of this horrible story.
Thanks to this intervention, the aggressor, who had already made victims and sought to make others, left the playground, before being arrested by the police.
“I was pushed inside to act”
This Friday morning on the channel CNews, Henri felt that he was not there by chance. He speaks of a mystical thrust, which would have led him there to Annecy.
“On my way to the cathedrals, I crossed the path of Blood, and I was internally driven to act, to defend the pure innocent, the child who is being attacked. he said. While considering that “This I did, everyone could have done it, every Frenchman should do it.”
“I invite everyone to refocus on the essentials to keep in mind what is most beautiful, greatest”, he concluded at the microphone of Pascal Praud.
This passionate walker and lover of France’s religious heritage has taken his “song of cathedrals” to prime timein a France that needed heroes, despite the horror.
In his last Instagram stories, Thursday evening, he said he was “to the prefecture for witness statements”. “Pray (sic) for the children, I’m fine”, he wrote. Before posting a prayer and promising to keep walking.
