Emmanuel Macron declares ‘Bollard Man’ a French hero for his bravery in confronting Westfield Bondi Junction massacre knifeman – after Anthony Albanese offered him Australian citizenship

Emmanuel Macron has declared ‘Bollard Man’ a French hero after defeating deranged killer Joel Cauchi in his Westfield Bondi Junction massacre.

Damien Guerot was nicknamed ‘Bollard Man’ after a viral video showed him bravely facing the knife-wielding killer on an escalator.

The heroic actions of Mr Guerot and his compatriot Silas Despreaux stopped the knifeman from reaching an area where many children were playing in the shopping centre.

Now the French president has praised the bravery of his two compatriots as he expressed his “condolences” for the six victims of Saturday’s attack.

“Condolences to the Australians affected by an attack in a Sydney shopping center on Saturday,” Macron wrote on X.

‘Two of our compatriots behaved like real heroes. Very great pride and recognition.’

Macron’s comments come after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vowed to grant Guerot citizenship for his heroism, amid reports his visa expires in a month.

It is clear that Mr Despreaux already has a permanent residence permit.

“I say this to Damien Guerot, who is processing his visa applications, that you are welcome here,” Albanese said Tuesday.

‘You can stay as long as you want.

“This is someone we would be happy to welcome as an Australian citizen, although that would of course be a loss for France.

‘We thank him for his extraordinary courage. It says a lot about the nature of humanity.

“At a time when we are facing difficult issues, someone who is not a citizen of this country bravely stood at the top of the escalators and prevented this perpetrator from going to another floor and possibly causing even more carnage of the citizens to target.

“I think we saw the best of human characters on Saturday, whilst at the same time seeing such a devastating tragedy and I thank Damien for his extraordinary efforts.”

He was at the gym with Mr. Despreaux on Saturday afternoon when they came across the scene of a massacre.

“We tried to get him, but he went down the stairs,” Guerot told 7News.

“Then we saw him go down, so we followed him from the top. We might have tried to throw the bollard at him, but it didn’t work.’

Mr. Guerot said he was running on pure “adrenaline.”

‘We didn’t think. You can’t think at that moment,” he said.

Mr Guerot said Cauchi had “empty eyes” and that the photos of him released today looked nothing like the man who went on a random stabbing frenzy.

“His eyes looked like empty eyes… he wasn’t there,” Guerot said.

The two mates launched the bollards at Cauchi, but he managed to escape.

Mr Guerot grabbed a chair and gave chase with NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, who shot dead Cauchi after he lunged at her.

The Frenchman praised Inspector Scott’s quick thinking.

“She was basically the hero, she did the work,” he said.

Cauchi apparently targeted women in the attack, but authorities have yet to pinpoint a motive for the worst massacre in recent years.

He was shot dead after killing Dawn Singleton, 25, Jade Young, 47, Pikria Darchia, 55, Yixuan Cheng, 27, and 30-year-old Faraz Tahir, while Ashlee Good, 38, later died in hospital.

A baby girl seriously injured in the massacre is showing signs of recovery.

Seven people, including the child, remained hospitalized Monday evening.

Health Minister Ryan Park said her condition had improved.

“We are pleased to see that the nine-month-old baby’s condition has been downgraded from critical to serious at Randwick Children’s Hospital,” he said.

“We hope to have her in the department in the coming days.”