Paris 'Spider-Man' hero granted French citizenship for daring rescue
A young Malian migrant to France who on Saturday effortlessly scaled four stories of an apartment building's balconies in less than 30 seconds to save a child dangling from a railing was granted French citizenship and an audience with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday to honor his bravery.
Mamoudou Gassama, 22, has been dubbed the "Spider-Man" of Paris for the ease and speed with which he acted. "I like children. I would have hated to see him getting hurt in front of me," Gassama said after the rescue. "I ran and I looked for solutions to save him, and, thank God, I scaled the front of the building to the balcony."
Gassama "explained to me that he arrived from Mali a few months ago with the dream of making a life for himself here," said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who also met with him. "I replied that his heroic act is an example for all citizens and that the city of Paris will obviously be keen to support him in his efforts to settle in France."
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In addition to citizenship, Gassama has been offered a job with the Paris fire brigade and awarded a medal for courage. Watch the daring rescue and his conversation with Macron below. Bonnie Kristian
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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