France honours Americans and Briton who disarmed train gunman

The four men who foiled a suspected terror attack on a French train last week have been awarded the Legion d'honneur by French President François Hollande on Monday.

Three Americans, Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, and on Briton, Chris Norman, overpowered Moroccan Ayoub El-Khazzani who was brandishing a Kalashnikov assault rifle and a Luger automatic pistol on a Thalys train bound for Paris on Friday.

Hollande commented that the two US citizens who first tackled the gunman were soldiers, "but on Friday you were simply passengers. You behaved as soldiers but also as responsible men."

"In the name of France, I would like to thank you. The whole world admires your bravery. It should be an example to all of us and inspire us. You put your lives at risk in order to defend freedom."

"You have shown us that, faced with terror, we have the power to resist. You have given a message of courage, solidarity and hope,” Hollande said.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and US Ambassador to France Jane Hartley also attended the ceremony, together with the head of the French rail firm SNCF.

France has stepped up security measures to tackle terror attacks, after the country saw a deadly attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and an attack against a Jewish supermarket in January.

The gunman's lawyer has since said he only intended to conduct a robbery, not a terror act.

You may also enjoy reading:

Cameron to fast-track UK counter-terrorism measures

Counter-terrorism police nabs two suspects in Reading