Hero ‘Spiderman’ Awarded French Citizenship for Rescuing Child
The gravity-defying Malian migrant saved 4-year-old dangling from a balcony in Paris.

Thibault Camus/Pool via Reuters
A Malian migrant is being hailed as a hero by the French government after scaling up the exterior of a building to save a 4-year-old child who was about to fall from a fourth-floor balcony. Twenty-two-year-old Mamoudou Gassama was captured on video apparently defying gravity to reach the child, who was dangling from a balcony railing as onlookers below looked on in horror. Gassama ascended and pulled the toddler to safety in the nick of time, later saying he simply couldn’t bear the thought of seeing the child “getting hurt in front of me.” French President Emmanuel Macron invited Gassama to the Elysee Palace on Monday to personally thank him for the feat. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also extended her gratitude to Gassama, who only recently moved to France in search of a better life. He has now reportedly been offered a job with the Paris fire brigade and will be awarded French citizenship.
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