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Deutsche Welle (28 May 2018)

A video of a dramatic rescue of a small child in Paris has gone viral on social media, with people calling the rescuer a real Spider-Man. President Emmanuel Macron is to thank the young migrant for his bravery.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has praised the heroic actions of an immigrant from Mali after he climbed the side of a four-story building to save a child dangling from a ledge.

"Congratulations to Mamoudou Gassama for his act of bravery that saved the life of a child," said Hidalgo, adding that the city would support Gassama's dream of settling permanently in France.

Hidalgo spoke to Gassama personally by phone to thank him after a video of the 22-year-old climbing Spider-Man-style up the building's facade went viral. By the time firefighters had arrived, the 4-year-old had already been saved.

Christophe Castaner, a French minister and former government spokesman, wrote on Twitter that he admired Gassama for leaping to save a life without thinking of his own.

Invitation from Macron

Gassama, 22, told Le Parisien daily that he had been walking by the building on Saturday evening when he saw a crowd gathered in front and rushed into action.

"I did it because it was a child," the newspaper quoted him as saying. "I climbed...Thank God I saved him." He later said that he was so overcome once he got back inside, he began shaking and felt faint.

Initial inquiries by French authorities found that the child's parents were not at home when the incident occurred. According to French news agency AFP, the boy's father is being questioned by police for leaving his child unattended.

Gassama has been invited to meet French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on Monday.

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