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International desk: 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.<\/p>\nInternational desk: 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.<\/p>\n
Mamoudou Gassama won widespread praise after climbing the outside of the building to save the four-year-old.<\/p>\n
Video showed him being cheered on by spectators as pulled himself from balcony to balcony to the fourth floor.<\/p>\n
After meeting him at the Elysee Palace, President Emmanuel Macron said he would be made a naturalised citizen.<\/p>\n
He personally thanked Mr Gassama, gave him a medal for courage and said he would also be made a fireman.<\/p>\n
The drama unfolded on Saturday evening on a street in the north of the city.<\/p>\n
Mr Gassama said he had been walking past when he saw a crowd gathered in front of the building.<\/p>\n
He told French broadcaster BFMTV when he saw the child dangling from the balcony, “I did not think, I saved him.”<\/p>\n
“When I took him in my arms, I spoke with him and asked: ‘Why did you do that?' But he did not answer.”<\/p>\n
The Parisian fire service said crews had arrived to find the boy had already been rescued.<\/p>\n
“Luckily, there was someone who was physically fit and who had the courage to go and get the child,” a spokesman told AFP news agency.<\/p>\n
Local authorities quoted by French media said the boy's parents were not at home at the time.<\/p>\n
The father has been questioned by police on suspicion of leaving his child unattended, judicial sources say. The mother was not in Paris at the time, it is believed.<\/p>\n
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo was among those to praise the 22-year-old's heroism and said she had called him to thank him.<\/p>\n
She referred to him as the “Spiderman of the 18th”, referring to the Paris district where the rescue took place, calling him an “example for all citizens”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
International desk: 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 won widespread praise after climbing the outside of the building to save the four-year-old. Video showed him being cheered on by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":44469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n