Lassana Bathily, a hero despite himself

Lassana Bathily was born in 1990 in the small village of Samba Dramané in western Mali. He is the eldest son in a large family. He arrived in Paris at the age of 16 and found himself, like so many Malians, in a poverty-stricken home in the 17th arrondissement. He obtained a vocational training certificate in tiling and found a job as a stock boy at the Hyper Cacher store at Porte de Vincennes. He is awaiting renewal of the residence permit he obtained in 2011 with the support of RESF. But January 9, 2015 was to transform his destiny.

Held hostage by Coulibaly, he managed to escape from the Hyper Cacher. At first presumed a terrorist by the RAID men, he went on to help them. That same evening, the French and international press voted him a hero. He, the Muslim, who saved the Jews! Since then, the French, Malian and Israeli governments, as well as Barack Obama, the Chief Rabbi of France, the Wiesenthal Foundation and the police forces of New York and Los Angeles, have been singing the praises of this «Just Man», citing him as a reference and model citizen.

Naturalized as a French citizen by François Hollande shortly after the attacks, he now works in the sports department of Paris City Hall. He still plays soccer, votes for the first time and responds to numerous requests from a society lacking examples of heroes. Invited all over the world, he has become the idealized representative of successful integration and brotherhood between Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Discover the portrait of a young Malian, through the testimonies of his parents, friends, teachers, Republican godfather, ex-home director... Descendant of a Soninke family, prince without a kingdom, with a romantic destiny, and whom the collective unconscious has elected «champion»: a hero in spite of himself.