Paris (CNN)Lassana Bathily, who emerged as the hero of the Paris supermarket attack, received his new French passport from the hands of Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve at a ceremony in Paris. The French government decided to award citizenship to the Malian-born 24-year-old supermarket employee after he risked his own life to hide customers from hostage-taker Amedy Coulibaly earlier this month. Four people lost their lives in the hostage-taking and shooting at the kosher grocery store. But the 15 people whom Bathily led downstairs to hide in a walk-in freezer stayed safe. Bathily, who describes himself as a "practicing Muslim," told CNN affiliate BFMTV he switched off the freezer, turned off the lights and told everyone to stay calm. He went upstairs, following orders from the hostage-taker, but managed to run outside and tell police about the situation in the store.
@highlight
France awards citizenship to Lassana Bathily for his actions during the supermarket attack
@highlight
"People think I am a hero, but I am not. I am just Lassana," he says
In his opening speech  at the ceremony Tuesday evening, Cazeneuve praised Bathily's gesture "of courage and humanity" which had become "the symbol of an @placeholder of peace and tolerance."