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Mali president hails 'Spiderman' heroics

By AFP
Mali Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita right says he is very proud of Mamoudou Gassama, the young Spiderman migrant who saved a child hanging from a balcony in central Paris by scaling the building with his bare hands.  By Michele CATTANI AFP
JUN 18, 2018 LISTEN
Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (right) says he is "very proud" of Mamoudou Gassama, the young "Spiderman" migrant who saved a child hanging from a balcony in central Paris by scaling the building with his bare hands. By Michele CATTANI (AFP)

Mamoudou Gassama, the Malian migrant "Spiderman" who saved a child hanging off a balcony by scaling a Paris apartment block with his bare hands, was hailed Monday by Mali's president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

"At a moment when... only one person could make the decision, it was you who made it. Of that, we are very proud," Keita told Gassama, who was accompanied by his father.

"We had a good talk. He congratulated me on what I had done," Gassama said.

French President Emmanuel Macron awarded Gassama, who was in France illegally, with French residency -- a first step to getting citizenship -- and feted his extraordinary feat.

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