A young Malian man was hailed a hero on Sunday after he sprang into action to save a four-year-old child hanging from a fourth-floor balcony by single-handedly scaling the facade of the building and hauling the youngster to safety. Advertising Read more Without a thought for his own safety, Mamoudou Gassama took just seconds to reach the child in a spectacular rescue captured on film and viewed millions of times on social networks. The incident took place at around 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) on Saturday in northern Paris. Film of the rescue shows Gassama, 22, pulling himself up from balcony to balcony with his bare hands as a man on the fourth floor tries to hold on to the child by leaning across from a neighbouring balcony. On reaching the fourth floor Gassama puts one leg over the balcony before reaching out with his right arm and grabbing the child. Watch 22 year old Mamoudou Gassama heroically scaling four stories of a building when he sees a toddler about to fall to a certain death. When he began climbing the neighbors did not have ahold of the child’s arm yet. pic.twitter.com/67EsUmzwFN Ray [REDACTED] (@RayRedacted) 28 May 2018 Firefighters arrived at the scene to find the child had already been rescued. "Luckily, there was someone who was physically fit and who had the courage to go and get the child," a fire service spokesman told AFP. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo praised the young migrant on Twitter for his "act of bravery" as well as phoning him personally to "thank him warmly". "He explained to me that he had arrived from Mali a few months ago dreaming of building his life here. "I told him that his heroic act is an example to all citizens and that the city of Paris will obviously be very keen to support him in his efforts to settle in France," she added. The young Malian will next be honoured for his brave rescue by French President Emmanuel Macron who has invited him to the Elysee Palace on Monday, his office told AFP. Tracked down by reporters 24 hours after the heroic rescue, Gassama said he had acted without thinking. "I saw all these people shouting, and cars sounding their horns. I climbed up like that and, thank God, I saved the child," he said. "I felt afraid when I saved the child... (when) we went into the living room, I started to shake, I could hardly stand up, I had to sit down," he added. According to initial inquiries by the authorities, the child's parents were not at home at the time. The father was later held for questioning by police for having left his child unattended and was due in court later, a judicial source said. The child's mother was not in Paris at the time. (AFP) Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Subscribe<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email UPDATED STORY: Mali migrant who scaled Paris building to rescue child offered French citizenship, job as firefighter Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Sunday praised the heroism of a Malian immigrant who scaled the facade of a four-story building in the north of capital to save a child hanging from a ledge, saying the city will support his effort to settle in France. The video of Mamoudou Gassama’s quick climbing to reach the child, cheered on by terrified onlookers, went viral on social media, with people calling the 22-year-old a real spider man. WATCH: Woman calls actions of Malian immigrant who scaled building to save child ‘impressive’ 0:31 Woman calls actions of Malian immigrant who scaled building to save child ‘impressive’ Woman calls actions of Malian immigrant who scaled building to save child ‘impressive’ – May 28, 2018 “Congratulations to Mamoudou Gassama for his act of bravery that saved the life of a child,” Hidalgo said on her official Twitter account, adding that she spoke with him by phone to thank him. Story continues below advertisement Hidalgo said Gassama told her that he arrived from Mali a few months ago and wished to stay in France. READ MORE: Pope Francis baptizes Nigerian ‘migrant hero’ who disarmed Italian thief “I replied that his heroic gesture was 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,” Hidalgo said. French minister and former government spokesman Christophe Castaner also took to Twitter to say how admirable it was that Gassama stepped forward to save a life without giving any thought for his own. Le Parisien newspaper reported that Gassama was walking by when he saw a gathering in front of the building and leapt into action. WATCH: Malian migrant ‘hero’ meets French President Macron 1:04 Malian migrant ‘hero’ meets French President Macron Malian migrant ‘hero’ meets French President Macron – May 28, 2018 ​ “I did it because it was a child,” the paper quoted him saying. “I climbed… Thank God I saved him.” Advertisement<doc-sep>PARIS (Reuters) - France on Monday offered citizenship to an illegal immigrant from Mali who scaled the facade of a Paris apartment block to save a boy who was about to fall from a fourth-floor balcony, President Emmanuel Macron said. Video shows Mamoudou Gassama, 22, risking his life on Sunday as he climbed up the balconies to rescue the four-year-old who is clinging to a railing and glancing at the ground below, while horrified onlookers watched. The video went viral and Gassama, who has been nicknamed “Spider-Man” for reaching the boy in the nick of time, was swiftly granted a meeting at the Elysee Palace. “I did it because it was a child,” French newspaper Le Parisien quoted Gassama as saying. “I climbed .... Thank God I saved him.” Macron congratulated Gassama for “an exceptional act” and said France would give him a job in the emergency services. “We’ll obviously be setting all your papers straight and if you wish it, we will start the process of naturalization so that you can become French,” he added. Ministers said the citizenship process would be sped up, although Gassama can’t legally be granted it right away. Slideshow ( 4 images ) As elsewhere in Europe, immigration from Africa and the Middle East has fixated French public opinion in the last few years, fueling the rise of far-right parties such as the National Front. Macron, who had been criticized by left-wing voters for taking a tougher stance on immigration since his election, may also have sought to send a message to Socialist voters by signaling a more welcoming attitude to a deserving migrant. Gassama told Macron he tried to cross the Mediterranean in March 2014 to reach Italy, but was caught by police. Europe has faced a migrant crisis since 2015 following wars in Libya and Syria and more than 1 million people from Africa and the Middle East have tried to reach the continent via Turkey or by sea. Macron’s government has said it wants to be both firm and fair on immigration but it took a tougher stance lately, with parliament approving a bill that tightens asylum rules. “What you have done corresponds with what firefighters do; if this fits your wishes, you could join the firefighters’ corps so that you can do (such acts) on a daily basis,” he said. Slideshow ( 4 images ) Adam Thiam, a Malian analyst and former presidential advisor told Reuters that Gassama’s act had been praised in his home country. “There is great pride here in Mali,” Thiam said. “But while (Gassama) gets the honors, there are ... Malian citizens under the threat of being expelled by the French government.” Gassama told Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo by phone on Sunday he arrived from Mali a few months ago and wished to stay in France. “I replied that his heroic gesture was 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,” Hidalgo said. The boy’s father was arrested and told police he had left his son alone to go shopping and returned home later than planned because he was playing Pokemon Go, an enhanced reality game, on his smartphone. “His behavior constitutes an offense, failing to honor parental responsibilities, which carries a possible sentence of two years in jail,” Molins said. Gassama is being offered a spell of community service work at the Paris emergency services. An official website says the work pays about 480 euros ($558) a month for a fixed 11-month period.<doc-sep>AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron (L) speaks with Mamoudou Gassama, 22, from Mali, at the Elysée Palace in Paris, on May, 28, 2018. French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday hailed the young Malian migrant who saved a 4-year-old child hanging from a fourth-floor Paris balcony, saying his act of bravery opened the door to French citizenship. Advertising Read more At a meeting in the Elysée presidential palace Monday, Macron praised Mamoudou Gassama, an undocumented migrant from Mali, for his “exceptional act” and added: “We’re going to regularise all your papers and if you wish, we will initiate a naturalisation procedure so that you can become French, if you so desire.” Gassama, 22, grabbed headlines across France after a video of his daring rescue of a 4-year-old child hanging from a fourth-floor balcony of a Paris apartment went viral on social media sites. Noting that Gassama had “become an example” after “millions of people” viewed the rescue video, Macron added that it was “normal that the nation be grateful". In a Twitter post shortly after the meeting, Macron said the Paris fire brigade “was ready to welcome” Gassama in their ranks – should he wish to apply. Avec M. GASSAMA qui a sauvé samedi la vie d’un enfant en escaladant 4 étages à mains nues. Je lui ai annoncé qu’en reconnaissance de cet acte héroïque il allait être régularisé dans les plus brefs délais, et que la brigade des sapeurs-pompiers de Paris était prête à l’accueillir. pic.twitter.com/xMpFlP1UFe Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 28, 2018 Risking his life to save a child The rescue took place at around 8:00pm (18:00 GMT) on Saturday in northern Paris. Film of the rescue shows Gassama, 22, pulling himself up from balcony to balcony with his bare hands as a man on the fourth floor tries to hold on to the child by leaning across from a neighbouring balcony. On reaching the fourth floor Gassama put one leg over the balcony before reaching out with his right arm and grabbing the child. Watch 22 year old Mamoudou Gassama heroically scaling four stories of a building when he sees a toddler about to fall to a certain death. When he began climbing the neighbors did not have ahold of the child’s arm yet. pic.twitter.com/67EsUmzwFN Ray [REDACTED] (@RayRedacted) 28 May 2018 Firefighters arrived at the scene to find the child had already been rescued. "Luckily, there was someone who was physically fit and who had the courage to go and get the child," a fire service spokesman told AFP. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo praised the young migrant on Twitter for his "act of bravery" as well as phoning him personally to "thank him warmly". "He explained to me that he had arrived from Mali a few months ago dreaming of building his life here. "I told him that his heroic act is an example to all citizens and that the city of Paris will obviously be very keen to support him in his efforts to settle in France," she added. 'I started to shake' Tracked down by reporters 24 hours after the heroic rescue, Gassama said he had acted without thinking. "I saw all these people shouting, and cars sounding their horns. I climbed up like that and, thank God, I saved the child," he said. "I felt afraid when I saved the child... (when) we went into the living room, I started to shake, I could hardly stand up, I had to sit down," he added. According to initial inquiries by the authorities, the child's parents were not at home at the time. The father was later held for questioning by police for having left his child unattended and was due in court later, a judicial source said. The child's mother was not in Paris at the time. (FRANCE 24 with AFP) Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning Subscribe<doc-sep>
* “This is an exceptional act” -Macron * Man called Spider-Man by onlookers, press * Toddler’s father detained after incident -BFM (Updates with detail on absent father, job offer) PARIS, May 28 (Reuters) - France will give residence papers to an illegal immigrant from Mali who scaled the facade of a Paris apartment block to save a boy who was about to fall from a fourth-floor balcony, President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday. Video shows Mamoudou Gassama, 22, risking his life on Sunday as he climbed up the balconies to rescue the four-year-old who is clinging to a railing and glancing at the ground below, while horrified onlookers watched. The video went viral and Gassama, who has been nicknamed “Spider-Man” for reaching the boy in time, was swiftly granted a meeting at the Elysee Palace. “I did it because it was a child,” French newspaper Le Parisien quoted Gassama as saying. “I climbed .... Thank God I saved him.” Macron congratulated Gassama for “an exceptional act” and said France would give him a job in the emergency services. “We’ll obviously be setting all your papers straight and if you wish it, we will start the process of naturalization so that you can become French,” he added. Gassama told Macron he tried to cross the Mediterranean in March 2014 to reach Italy, but was caught by police. Europe has faced a migrant crisis since 2015 following wars in Libya and Syria and more than 1 million people from Africa and the Middle East have tried to reach the continent via Turkey or by sea. Macron’s government has said it wants to be both firm and fair on immigration but it took a tougher stance lately, with parliament approving a bill that tightens asylum rules. “What you have done corresponds with what firefighters do; if this fits your wishes, you could join the firefighters’ corps so that you can do (such acts) on a daily basis,” he said. Gassama told Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo by phone on Sunday he arrived from Mali a few months ago and wished to stay in France. “I replied that his heroic gesture was 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,” Hidalgo said. The boy’s father was arrested and told police he had left his son alone to go shopping and returned home later than planned because he was playing Pokemon Go, an enhanced reality game, on his smartphone. “His behaviour constitutes an offence, failing to honour parental responsibilities, which carries a possible sentence of two years in jail,” Molins said. Gassama is being offered a spell of community service work at the Paris emergency services. An official website says the work pays about 480 euros ($557.76)a month for a fixed 11-month period. ($1 = 0.8606 euros) (Reporting by Bate Felix, Michel Rose; Marine Pennetier and Julie Carriat; Writing by Mathieu Rosemain and Brian Love Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)