Paris 'Spiderman' accepts paid internship with fire brigade

  • 30/05/2018

The man who scaled four storeys to save a toddler has accepted a paid internship with the local fire brigade.

On Saturday evening (local time), 22-year-old illegal immigrant Mamoudou Gassama was walking through Paris when he heard people shouting. He looked up to see a four-year-old boy dangling off the side of the apartment - and sprang into action.

Video shows him clambering quickly up the side of the building, pulling himself from balcony to balcony. Within a matter of moments, Mr Gassama reached the child, grabbing him by one arm and hauling him to safety.

Following the heroic act, Mr Gassama met French President Emmanuel Macron and his citizenship was fast-tracked.

"We'll obviously be setting all your papers straight and if you wish it, we will start the process of naturalisation so that you can become French," Mr Macron told Mr Gassama on Monday.

The conversation then turned to Mr Gassama's future, and the President had one big suggestion.

"What you have done corresponds with what firefighters do; if this fits your wishes, you could join the firefighters' corps so that you can do [such acts] on a daily basis," he said.

And that suggestion is now exactly what Mr Gassama has done, taking up a 10-month internship with the fire and rescue services.

The internship is expected to pay around €600 ($1000) a month.

Newshub.