On January 9, 2015, Islamic terrorists assaulted the Hyper Cacher supermarket in Paris, following the attack on Charlie Hebdo. During the attack, Bathilly, who was working in the store at the time, heroically hid a dozen Jewish customers in a walk-in fridge to protect them from the terrorists rampaging on the upper floor. He turned off the fan to avoid drawing attention downstairs. After ensuring the hostages’ safety, Bathilly managed to exit the fridge through the shop’s goods hoist to alert the police about the situation inside.
At first, the officers mistook him for an accomplice of the terrorists: he was handcuffed but, in the end, Bathily managed to provide the police with crucial information, including the shop’s layout, security devices, and the positions of the terrorists and customers. For his actions, he was granted French citizenship and later established a non-profit organization to assist his country of origin.