Mamoudou Gassama

Last updated
Mamoudou Gassama
Born1996 (age 2728)
Nationality Malian-French citizen
Other namesReal life Superhero
Real life Spiderman
The Malian-French Hero [1]
"Spider-Man" of Paris [2]
Black Spiderman
Occupation Firefighter [3]
Known forRescues a four-year-old boy who was hanging from highest level of building balcony [4]
(recorded with digital proof - camera - uploaded via YouTube)

Mamoudou Gassama (born 1996, also known as Spider-Man of Paris [5] ) is a Malian-French citizen, living in France who, on 26 May 2018, climbed four stories on the exterior of a block of flats in the 18th arrondissement of Paris ( 51 rue Marx-Dormoy) in 30 seconds to save a four-year-old boy who was hanging from a balcony. [6] [4] The child’s father had apparently left the boy unattended to go shopping, and was subsequently charged with leaving his son unsupervised. [7]

Contents

Aftermath

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo called Gassama "Spider-Man of the 18th" in reference to the city’s 18th arrondissement (district) where the rescue took place. [8] [9] On 28 May 2018, President Emmanuel Macron met Gassama at the Élysée Palace to thank him personally. He was awarded the Médaille d’honneur pour acte de courage et de dévouement and offered a role in the fire service which he subsequently took up. [10] At the instigation of President Macron, Gassama was made a French citizen in September 2018. [11] [12] [13]

Personal life

Gassama was born in Mali. He travelled to Europe via Burkina Faso, Niger and Libya, where he was arrested and beaten. He crossed the Mediterranean and obtained papers to stay legally in Italy, but travelled to France in September 2017 to join his elder brother. [14] News reports emphasized the similarity between Gassama and Lassana Bathily, a Muslim immigrant from Mali who was hailed as a hero in France and offered citizenship for his bravery in the Hypercacher kosher supermarket siege of 2015. [4] On 24 June 2018 Gassama received the BET Humanitarian Award in Los Angeles. [15] [16] [17]

As of June 2018, Gassama is working as a firefighter in the Paris fire brigade. [18]

A story about Mamoudou Gassama's courageous act was featured on the TV Documentary, The Proof Is Out There.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alain Robert</span> French rock and urban climber

Alain Robert is a French rock climber and urban climber. Known as "the French Spider-Man" or "the Human Spider", Robert is famous for his free solo climbing, scaling skyscrapers using no climbing equipment except for a small bag of chalk and a pair of climbing shoes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in France</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in France are progressive by world standards. Although same-sex sexual activity was a capital crime that often resulted in the death penalty during the Ancien Régime, all sodomy laws were repealed in 1791 during the French Revolution. However, a lesser-known indecent exposure law that often targeted LGBT people was introduced in 1960, before being repealed in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honour medal for courage and devotion</span> Award

The Honour medal for courage and devotion is a French decoration than can be bestowed to individuals and whole units. It is awarded for acts of courage during a rescue. The Honour medal for courage and devotion was created on 2 March 1820 by King Louis XVIII. It has gone through several designs during its long history. The award was given its present name by a decree of 16 November 1901.

Spider-Man or Spiderman is the nickname of:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Republicans (France)</span> French political party

The Republicans is a liberal-conservative political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullist tradition. The party was formed on 30 May 2015 as the re-incorporation of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), which had been established in 2002 under the leadership of then President of France Jacques Chirac.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Lemercier de Neuville</span> French puppeteer, journalist, columnist, playwright and storyteller

Louis Lemercier de Neuville or La Haudussière, real name Louis Lemercier, was a French puppeteer, journalist, columnist, playwright and storyteller. He created the French Théâtre de Pupazzi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renaissance (French political party)</span> French political party

Renaissance (RE) is a liberal and centrist political party in France. The party was originally known as En Marche ! and later La République En Marche ! before adopting its current name in September 2022.

Events from the year 2017 in France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mounir Mahjoubi</span> French entrepreneur and politician

Mounir Mahjoubi is a French entrepreneur and politician of La République En Marche! (LREM) who served as a member of the National Assembly from June to July 2017 and from 2019 to 2022. From 2017 until 2019 was the Secretary of State for Digital Affairs in the government of Prime Minister Édouard Philippe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Philippe government</span> Government of France (2017-2020)

The second Philippe government was the forty-first government of the French Fifth Republic. It was the second government formed by Édouard Philippe under President Emmanuel Macron, following the 2017 legislative election and the dissolution of the first Philippe government on 19 June 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julien Denormandie</span> French politician (born 1980)

Julien Denormandie is a French engineer and politician of La République En Marche! (LREM) who served as Minister of Agriculture in the government of Prime Minister Jean Castex from 2019 to 2022.

Sarah Halimi was a retired French doctor and schoolteacher who was attacked and killed in her apartment on 4 April 2017. Circumstances surrounding the killing—including the fact that Halimi was Jewish, and that the assailant had shouted Allahu akbar during the attack and afterward proclaimed "I killed the Shaitan"—cemented the public perception, particularly among the French Jewish community, that it was a stark example of antisemitism in modern France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odette Abadi</span> Physician and member of the French Resistance during WWII

Odette Abadi was a French physician, and member of the Resistance during World War II (WWII). She was a co-founder of the Réseau Marcel which saved more than 500 Jewish children from death during The Holocaust. Although she was arrested and tortured by the Gestapo, she refused to divulge the locations of the hidden Jewish children and was sent to two concentration camps. After Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was liberated in 1945, Abadi continued her profession as a doctor, with a focus on tuberculosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in France</span> Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in France

The COVID-19 pandemic in France has resulted in 38,997,490 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 167,985 deaths.

Lady Lova, known as Le Diamant noir, is a French singer of dancehall and hip hop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hadja Idrissa Bah</span>

Hadja Idrissa Bah, also Hadja Idy is a child's rights and women's rights activist from Guinea, who was elected President of the Guinean Children's Parliament in 2016. She has advised President Emmanuel Macron on women's issues.

Maryam Petronin is a French-Swiss humanitarian aid worker and nutritionist. She is the founder and director of "Aide à Gao", a Swiss non-governmental relief organization that assists children suffering from malnutrition. While working in Gao in 2016, she was abducted by Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, the official branch of Al-Qaeda in Mali. Following her disappearance, the Ministère Public and the General Directorate for Internal Security opened an investigation. She appeared in multiple videos released by her captors, pleading for help from her son and from the French government. When she returned to France from her captivity, Pétronin converted to Islam and took the name Mariam. She was released in October 2020, alongside Malian opposition leader Soumaila Cisse and two Italian citizens, after being held hostage for 1,381 days. Pétronin revealed that Béatrice Stöckli, a Swiss Christian missionary who had been held hostage alongside her, was killed earlier that year by the terrorist organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Together (coalition)</span> Political coalition in France

Together is a liberal political coalition in France. Formed in November 2021 as Ensemble Citoyens, it includes Renaissance, Democratic Movement (MoDem), Horizons, En commun, and the Progressive Federation. The coalition included the parties Agir and Territories of Progress (TDP) until they were merged into the rebranded Renaissance. Ensemble has mainly been described as being centrist, and sometimes as centre-right on the political spectrum.

References

  1. Sage, Adam (28 May 2018). "'Spiderman' rescues boy, 4, from balcony". The Times.
  2. 'Spider-Man' of Paris to get French citizenship after child rescue
  3. France's 'Spider-Man' begins job in Paris fire brigade | #TheCube
  4. 1 2 3 Breeden, Aurelien; Cowell, Alan (28 May 2018). "'Spider-Man,' a Migrant in Paris, Scales Building to Save a Child". The New York Times.
  5. 'Spider-Man' of Paris to get French citizenship after child rescue
  6. Sage, Adam (28 May 2018). "'Spiderman' rescues boy, 4, from balcony". The Times.
  7. "Paris Il escalade un immeuble pour sauver in extremis un enfant suspendu dans le vide".
  8. Mazza, Ed. "Real-Life Spider-Man Scrambles Up Building To Save A Dangling Child". Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  9. Nash, Konstan. ""SPIDERMAN" SAVED A BABY IN PARIS, CLIMBING FOR 30 SECONDS ON THE FOURTH FLOOR". Bobr Times. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  10. "The Spiderman of Paris: What happened next?". BBC News. 24 December 2018.
  11. "Mamoudou Gassama: Mali 'Spiderman' becomes French citizen". BBC News. 13 September 2018.
  12. "DIRECT. Enfant sauvé d'une chute à Paris : Mamoudou Gassama recevra son titre de séjour dès mardi". 28 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  13. France: un sans-papiers malien qui a sauvé un enfant sera naturalisé français, AFP (May 28, 2018).
  14. "France: Macron rewards migrant hero who saved dangling child". ABC News. 28 May 2018.
  15. https://www.20minutes.fr/arts-stars/culture/2295007-20180623-mamoudou-gassama-recompense-bet-awards-aussi-booba-niska - 20minutes.fr
  16. "À Los Angeles, Mamoudou Gassama reçoit un award pour son acte d'héroïsme". Europe 1.
  17. https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/2018/06/24/aux-bet-awards-mamoudou-gassama-a-ete-recompense-pour-son-heroisme_a_23466899/ - huffingtonpost.fr
  18. France's 'Spider-Man' begins job in Paris fire brigade | #TheCube