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A young Malian migrant who rescued a child dangling from a balcony will
be made a French citizen and has been offered a job by the Paris fire
brigade, the office of the French presidency said.
Video of the rescue showed 22-year-old Mamoudou Gassama climbing up four
floors of the apartment building in just seconds to rescue the child, to
cheers from onlookers.
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By the time Parisian emergency services arrived at the building, he had
already pulled the child to safety.
President Emmanuel Macron invited Gassama to the Élysée Palace on
Monday, where he was given a certificate and a gold medal for performing
an act of courage and dedication.
Gassama told Macron: "I didn't think about it, I climbed up and God
helped me."
He said that when he reached the apartment, he became scared and started
shaking.
Macron asked Gassama how the child was when he was rescued. He replied:
"He was crying because he was hurt."
Speaking to CNN-affiliate BFM TV after the rescue, Gassama said he had
been in the neighborhood to watch a football match in a local restaurant
when he saw the commotion.
"I like children, I would have hated to see him getting hurt in front of
me. I ran and I looked for solutions to save him and thank God I scaled
the front of the building to the balcony," he said.
The video shows neighbors on an adjoining balcony struggling to pull the
child to safety. According to judicial sources, the child's father was
out shopping when the incident occurred.
The father is being investigated for abandoning his parental
responsibilities, according to a spokesman for the Paris prosecutor.
He is no longer in custody, but will be sentenced in September, the
spokesman said. The 4-year-old child has been placed in care.
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Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on her official Twitter on Sunday she had
called Gassama to thank him, congratulating the Malian migrant on his
act of bravery.
"He explained to me that he arrived from Mali a few months ago with the
dream of making a life for himself here. 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," she posted
to Twitter.
The Paris fire brigade tweeted: "Mamoudou shares the values of the Paris
fire brigade. We are ready to welcome him." |
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