On June 7, 2023, Abdalmasih H. attacked several people with a knife in a park in Annecy, in Haute-Savoie. It is 9:45 a.m. and at that time, Henry of Anselme is located near this same children’s play area. The 24-year-old man intervened and tried to scare away the attacker, who injured four children before being arrested. A scene filmed by passers-by, and an act of bravery which allowed this “backpack hero” to create buzz on the Web. Enough to offer this young man, who left to tour the cathedrals of France at the time of the tragedy, an unexpected notoriety. In an interview with Gala, in the issue published Thursday September 7, 2023, Henri d’Anselme tells how he understood his sudden fame. “It was an infernal machine, he recalled. The first day, from 3:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., the phone was ringing every 30 seconds. My life has been swept away in an uncontrollable whirlwind which impacted me, but also my loved ones.” His Instagram account, on which he shares his visits to cathedrals, sees his number of followers suddenly soar to reach 130,000 today.
“I just wanted it to stop”
And that was only the beginning. On July 14, 2023, Henri was awarded the Legion of Honor for his act of bravery, during the civilian promotion of the Legion of Honor. A reward which supported the phenomenon Henri, the hero with the backpack. Here again, it was difficult for him to accept the decoration: “I was embarrassed. For me, I wasn’t worthy of this award, I just wanted it to stop. But my family and my grandfather, himself decorated, taught me to accept this recognition and this gift.” After the knife attack affair, Henri wants to take advantage of his new celebrity to convey messages. “I simply want to introduce everyone to the beauty of French cultural heritage”he concludes Gala. Henri therefore continues his adventure to discover the cathedrals, on foot and by hitchhiking, as before that tragic morning of June 7.