Muslim employee who saved lives at Kosher supermarket in Paris praised for his courage as he is granted citizenship by France

The Muslim kosher supermarket employee who saved several shoppers lives during the Paris attack has been granted French citizenship.

Lassana Bathily, 24, was praised for his 'courage and heroism' by Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve during a ceremony in the presence of Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

Mr Cazeneuve said Mali-born Bathily's 'act of humanity has become a symbol of an Islam of peace and tolerance.'

Mr Bathily, who reportedly led six people to safety, told BFMTV: 'When they ran down, I opened the door [of the freezer].

'There are several people who came to me. I turned off the light, I turned off the freezer.

'When I turned off the cold, I put them [hostages] in, I closed the door, I told them to stay calm.'

Using a goods lift he escaped and was able to give the police valuable information about what was happening inside and where the hostages were hiding.

Shy and reluctant to tell his story, Mr Bathily, who went to school in Paris, admitted that after the shoot-out many of the customers came to shake his hand and thank him for what he did.

Bathily has lived in France since 2006, attending school in the capital

He had filed an application for French citizenship last year.