Malian ‘Spiderman’ who rescued child from Paris balcony hailed by Macron

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.

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.