His Facebook and Instagram accounts were flooded with messages giving thanks for his bravery.
“May God bless you … you did what you could at that moment, you did not give up, you did not run. You are an angel,” Instagram user Mag Capone wrote on his site.
A mass will be held in Annecy Cathedral in tribute to the victims and their families later on Friday, church authorities said.
Police have arrested a 31-year old Syrian national who was granted asylum in Sweden 10 years ago, Borne said on Friday.
He had entered France legally, she said, and was carrying Swedish identity documents and a Swedish driving licence. Sweden and France are both members of the Schengen Area, the world’s largest passport-free zone which allows the unrestricted movement of people between 26 European countries.
The attack has laid bare the tensions between Europe’s free movement rights and the pressure governments in countries like France and Italy are coming under from voters to toughen immigration laws as societies shift rightwards politically.
One of the two pensioners caught up in the attack told Reuters he had been sitting on a park bench when the attacker approached on the run.
“He probably wanted to create one more victim,” said Youssouf, who asked to withhold his family name.
Source: CNA
