Beyond the Headlines: Heroic Malian migrant goes viral, granted French citizenship

World
Europe

02:44

In May, a migrant from Mali received French citizenship. That came after he scaled the face of a building and rescued a child dangling from balcony in Paris. It's a heart-warming story, but one that's raised serious questions around the government's treatment of migrants. Cao Bing has the story.

If Mamadou Gassama wasn't in the right place, at the right time, he may have never found himself where he is today. When the 22-year-old migrant from Mali saw a child dangling from a Paris balcony, he lept into action. Climbing the four-story building with his bare hands in a matter of seconds. The boy was saved.

Footage of the daring rescue quickly went viral in France. People called the Gassama a real-life Spiderman.

MAMADOU GASSAMA "I didn't think twice."

The brave man's deed resonated, even at the highest levels. Gassama was greeted with a hero's welcome at the Elysee Palace.

EMMANUEL MACRON FRENCH PRESIDENT "I met a young hero this morning, who showed himself this weekend. He told me what he'd achieved, what many of you have seen."

Macron said Gassama's actions deserved special treatment, rewarding him with legal citizenship and offering him a job as a firefighter.

MAMADOU GASSAMA "I am happy now, I'm very happy."

Paris's mayor said the city would support his efforts to settle in France.

It's a superhero story with a happy ending. But the case raised questions for many. Should migrants' rights to citizenship depend on feats of bravery? And was it hypocrisy for the government to praise Gassama while pushing hard to deport others like him?

"I admire Gassama's bravery. And I dream of a country where it wouldn't be necessary to scale a building to save the life of a child, at the risk of one's own life, to be treated like a human being when you are a migrant."

Leaders in the country's Malian diaspora community expressed serious concern towards the government drastic measures against the undocumented, many of whom have found themselves on a growing deportation list.

Currently, over 10-thousand Malian immigrants live in just one Paris suburb alone. The total number in France is over 76-thousand. Gassama is but one among many. And while his quick-thinking has helped him hit the immigration jackpot. There are many young people like him, who will have no such luck. Cao Bing, CGTN.