Africa
16 January 2015
Last updated at 07:09 ET
He told them to stay quiet and calm before escaping to alert police.
Mr Bathily is to be given French nationality at a ceremony on Tuesday after his application was fast-tracked.
The gunman, Amedy Coulibaly, killed four Jewish hostages at the supermarket before being shot dead by police.
A petition was later circulated in France calling for Mr Bathily to be given citizenship.
He has lived in France for nine years and applied for citizenship last year.
'Screaming' Mr Bathily said he had been in the basement of the supermarket when he heard gunshots upstairs.
"The customers started running down the steps. They were screaming [that] there were terrorists in the shop.
He said he noticed that the cold storage room was open.
"I told them to come in with me. Then I switched off the fridge and the lights.
Mr Bathily was able to help police plan their assault on the supermarket
"I told the customers to stay calm. [I said:] If the terrorist comes down here he must not hear you."
Mr Bathily said once everyone was quiet he decided to escape to alert police.
"I took the service lift out of the basement. I rushed out and saw the police everywhere," he said.
"They told me to put my hands up but then they asked me for my help.
"I told them a lot of hostages were hidden in the basement. They asked me to draw a map of the shop to help with their assault."
'Criminals' Mr Bathily said he had a good relationship with Jewish colleagues at the shop, and was sometimes teased about when he would get a Jewish girlfriend.
Asked about the Paris attackers, Mr Bathily said: "They were just criminals who want to make people suffer."
Last week's violence began with an attack by two gunmen on Charlie Hebdo magazine, which left 12 people dead.
The two gunmen behind the Charlie Hebdo attack - Said and Cherif Kouachi - were shot dead by police outside a warehouse near Paris on 9 January.
Twelve suspects are being held by police in the Paris region over the attacks, in which 17 people were killed.
They are being questioned about "possible logistical support", such as weapons or vehicles, they could have given the three gunmen, police say.
by Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Paris
Lassana Bathily: "I switched off the fridge... and told customers to stay calm"
A
man from Mali has told the BBC how he hid shoppers at a Jewish
supermarket in Paris during an attack by an Islamist gunman last Friday.
The 24-year-old shop assistant, Lassana Bathily, who is
Muslim, explained how he had shepherded fleeing customers into a
basement cold store. He told them to stay quiet and calm before escaping to alert police.
Mr Bathily is to be given French nationality at a ceremony on Tuesday after his application was fast-tracked.
The gunman, Amedy Coulibaly, killed four Jewish hostages at the supermarket before being shot dead by police.
A petition was later circulated in France calling for Mr Bathily to be given citizenship.
He has lived in France for nine years and applied for citizenship last year.
'Screaming' Mr Bathily said he had been in the basement of the supermarket when he heard gunshots upstairs.
"The customers started running down the steps. They were screaming [that] there were terrorists in the shop.
He said he noticed that the cold storage room was open.
"I told them to come in with me. Then I switched off the fridge and the lights.
Mr Bathily was able to help police plan their assault on the supermarket
Mr Bathily said once everyone was quiet he decided to escape to alert police.
"I took the service lift out of the basement. I rushed out and saw the police everywhere," he said.
"They told me to put my hands up but then they asked me for my help.
"I told them a lot of hostages were hidden in the basement. They asked me to draw a map of the shop to help with their assault."
'Criminals' Mr Bathily said he had a good relationship with Jewish colleagues at the shop, and was sometimes teased about when he would get a Jewish girlfriend.
Asked about the Paris attackers, Mr Bathily said: "They were just criminals who want to make people suffer."
Last week's violence began with an attack by two gunmen on Charlie Hebdo magazine, which left 12 people dead.
The two gunmen behind the Charlie Hebdo attack - Said and Cherif Kouachi - were shot dead by police outside a warehouse near Paris on 9 January.
Twelve suspects are being held by police in the Paris region over the attacks, in which 17 people were killed.
They are being questioned about "possible logistical support", such as weapons or vehicles, they could have given the three gunmen, police say.
Paris attacks
Features and Analysis
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Investigators are examining several new leads as they attempt to piece together what happened before and after the Paris attacks which left 17 dead.
New leads
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The victims
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Three days of terror
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France and freedom
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Who sent gunmen?
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Jews look to Israel
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’I am not Charlie’
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Jewish and French
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Divisions persist
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Who is Boumeddiene?
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Remembering cartoonists
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Gunmen
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'Unprecedented terror'
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Eyewitnesses
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Defiant editor
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France rallies
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Cartoonists' response
Video
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Huge crowds and some 40 world leaders have gathered in Paris for a unity march, after 17 people were killed during three days of deadly attacks.
One million Parisians cry for freedom
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Marseille Muslims condemn violence
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Unity in the suburbs of Paris
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Video 'shows supermarket gunman'
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Crowds unite in applause in Paris
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World leaders link arms to march
From other news sites
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Ynet News Muslim who saved Jews in attack on kosher deli 3 hrs ago
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Time Paris Hero Describes How He Saved Customers During Supermarket Attack 4 hrs ago
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