Mamoudou Gassama (born 1996) is a Malian- French citizen, living in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

who, on 26 May 2018, climbed four stories on the exterior of a block of flats in the

18th arrondissement of Paris The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dix-huitième''. The arrondissement, known as Butte-Montmartr ...

( 51 rue Marx-Dormoy) in 30 seconds to save a four-year-old boy who was hanging from a balcony. The child’s father had apparently left the boy unattended to go shopping, and was subsequently charged with leaving his son unsupervised.

Aftermath

Paris Mayor

Anne Hidalgo Ana María "Anne" Hidalgo Aleu (, ; born 1959) is a Spanish-French politician who has served as Mayor of Paris since 2014, the first woman to hold the office. She is a member of the Socialist Party. Hidalgo served as First Deputy Mayor of Paris ...

called Gassama "

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

of the 18th" in reference to the city’s

18th arrondissement The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dix-huitième''. The arrondis ...

(district) where the rescue took place. On 28 May 2018, President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

met Gassama at the

Élysée Palace The Élysée Palace (french: Palais de l'Élysée; ) is the official residence of the President of the French Republic. Completed in 1722, it was built for nobleman and army officer Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, who had been appointed Gover ...

to thank him personally. He was awarded the

Médaille d’honneur pour acte de courage et de dévouement The Honour medal for courage and devotion (french: "Médaille d’honneur pour acte de courage et de dévouement") is a French decoration than can be bestowed to individuals and whole units. It is awarded for acts of courage during a rescue. Th ...

and offered a role in the

fire service A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

which he subsequently took up; as of December 2018 he is working a ten month contract as an intern. At the instigation of President Macron, Gassama was made a

French citizen French nationality law is historically based on the principles of '' jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and '' jus sanguinis'', according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nationality, ''jus sanguinis'' ...

in September 2018.

Personal life

Gassama was born in

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

. He travelled to Europe via

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesLibya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

, where he was arrested and beaten. He crossed the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and obtained papers to stay legally in Italy, but travelled to France in September 2017 to join his elder brother. News reports emphasized the similarity between Gassama and Lassana Bathily, a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

immigrant from Mali who was hailed as a hero in France and offered citizenship for his bravery in the

Hypercacher kosher supermarket siege On 9 January 2015, Amedy Coulibaly, armed with a submachine gun, an assault rifle, and two Tokarev pistols, entered and attacked a Hypercacher kosher supermarket in Porte de Vincennes in Paris, France. There, Coulibaly murdered four Jewish ho ...

of 2015. On 24 June 2018 Gassama received the

BET Humanitarian Award The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

in Los Angeles.https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/2018/06/24/aux-bet-awards-mamoudou-gassama-a-ete-recompense-pour-son-heroisme_a_23466899/ - huffingtonpost.fr

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gassama, Mamoudou 1996 births Living people 21st-century French people 21st-century Malian people French firefighters Malian emigrants to France