On a quiet Saturday evening in May 2018, walking through a street in Paris, Mamadou Gassama, a 22-year-old individual from Africa, noticed a crowd gathered beneath a residential building where a four-year-old child hung from a fourth-floor balcony. He quickly climbed the exterior of the building and rescued the boy to safety within no time. This act of physical prowess earned him the nickname ‘Spiderman’ of Paris.
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Mamadou’s life covered a difficult path long before he became a national hero in France. Born in Mali, he embarked on a challenging journey to Europe in 2013, navigating the Sahara Desert and surviving brutal conditions in Libya. After crossing the Mediterranean and spending several years in Italy, he arrived in Paris in September 2017 to join his brother. As an undocumented migrant, he lived an uncertain, quiet life in a hostel in Montreuil, working construction jobs while avoiding the authorities.
What happened in front of Mamadou’s eyes during the incident in Paris
According to BBC, the incident occurred on 26 May 2018, while Gassama was going to watch a football match. As he was walking, he noticed a large crowd gathered at a residential building. They were shouting for a small boy who was hanging from the edge of a fourth-floor balcony.
The traffic was also jammed as people watched the incident unfold. A neighbour in an adjacent apartment was trying to reach the boy, but they were unable to pull him. In an interview, Gassama stated that he didn’t think about his own safety, and acted immediately to prevent a tragedy.
