Last May, Gassama risked his life to save a four-year-old boy who was hanging from a fourth storey balcony, while horrified onlookers watched.
French president Emmanuel Macron had asked for Gassama to be naturalized after receiving him at the Elysee Palace as a gesture of recognition for his heroic act.
The former undocumented Malian migrant entered France in September 2017 after crossing Niger, Burkina-Faso and Libya to reach Europe.
"This act of great bravery illustrated in an exemplary way some of the values that help to bind members of the national community such as courage, selflessness, altruism, and attention to the most vulnerable," said the naturalization decree signed by Prime Minister Édouard Philippe.
The text also highlights the “considerable impact that his gesture had both in France and in the world — contributing to the country’s international influence and to the importance of universal values, which he embodied.”
His “outstanding services to France” absolved him from the five-year wait undocumented migrants must wait to ask for papers.
On July 1st, Gassama started working with the Paris' firefighter brigade.
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