When Gassama reached the child and pulled him to safety, the crowds gathered below broke out into rapturous applause.

He later told French media he loved children and "wouldn't have wanted something to happen to him".

"I managed to get up to the balcony above. I went up like that. And thank God, I saved him," Gassama said.

According to his brother, Gassama did not have the necessary papers to take up residency in France and had been living in temporary accommodations.

Before Macron's announcement, officials hinted that the situation could change.

A government spokesperson said the country should "open the doors of our national community", and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo added the city was eager to support efforts to settle him in France.