A self-styled French 'Spiderman' who has made a name for himself by climbing some of the world's tallest buildings without permission made something of a career first on Thursday (May 10) by ascending the tallest skyscraper in France with the permission of its owners.
Instead of being arrested and carted off at the top of First tower, Alain Robert was greeted by well-wishers and supporters. He reached the top of the 231-metre-high tower after roughly 1-1/2 hours of ascent using nothing but his bare hands and some talcum powder.
Robert, who has climbed over 100 buildings including the New York Times building in New Yorkand Burj al Khalifa in Dubai, describes his occupation as the 'best job in the world'. But he says he is scared of heights.
"I knew for sure that I was going to do it. Whether it's a good quality to have or not, I know that nothing's going to stop me. Sometimes I was even afraid for myself, because I know no matter (what), I will be doing the ascent and I did it," an elated Robert told Reuters after he took the lift back down.
Instead of being dragged off by irate policemen, Robert was greeted with a cocktail party at ground level.
