Hero Malian Migrant Who Saved Child To Be Given French Citizenship

Mamoudou Gassama

A Malian migrant hailed as a hero after mounting a daring rescue to save a small boy dangling from a balcony in Paris is to be made a French citizen.

Mamoudou Gassama, who met with President Emmanuel Macron after a video of his rescue went viral on social media, will also be offered a place in the fire brigade, the President added.

Gassama won widespread praise after climbing the outside of the building to save the four-year-old.

Video showed him being cheered on by spectators as pulled himself from balcony to balcony to the fourth floor.

After meeting him at the Elysee Palace, Macron said he would be made a naturalised citizen.

He personally thanked Gassama, gave him a medal for courage and said he would also be offered a role in the fire service.

The drama unfolded on Saturday evening on a street in the north of the city.

Gassama said he had been walking past when he saw a crowd gathered in front of the building.

He told French broadcaster BFMTV when he saw the child dangling from the balcony, “I did not think, I saved him.”

“When I took him in my arms, I spoke with him and asked: ‘Why did you do that?’ But he did not answer.”

The Parisian fire service said crews had arrived to find the boy had already been rescued.

“Luckily, there was someone who was physically fit and who had the courage to go and get the child,” a spokesman told AFP.





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