Fousseynou Cissé, the “hero” of the 18th arrondissement, decorated and honored at the July 14 parade

Standing tall alongside the "heroes" of July 14th, Fousseynou Cissé, who rescued six people from their burning apartment in the 18th arrondissement of Paris last week, was among the guests at the military parade festivities on Monday, during which he was warmly greeted by Emmanuel Macron. The French President invited the 39-year-old Senegalese-born contract school receptionist and his family after his rescue, captured in a video that went viral on social media.

"He set an example. The whole nation is grateful," he said to the Cissé family, before posing alongside them.

On July 4, a fire broke out on the second floor of a building in the 18th arrondissement of the capital. On the sixth floor, two mothers found themselves trapped by smoke, holding their children at arm's length out of the windows to protect them from the smoke.

In the footage taken by a resident and which went viral on social media, Fousseynou Cissé is seen walking onto a ledge, then balancing in the corner between the two buildings of the residence, passing two babies, two children and two mothers from the window of one apartment to another.

An act of bravery that earned him the Medal of Courage on Sunday from Paris Police Prefect Laurent Nuñez. "There were people who were desperate, in disarray, looking for help. So, I didn't think twice," explained Fousseynou Cissé. "It was instinct." The thirty-year-old also added that this distinction "really marks a new era" for him.

He currently only has a residence permit in France. Perhaps his heroic gesture will allow him, like Mamoudou Gassama in 2018, to obtain French nationality.