ALAIN ROBERT, a Frenchman who has conquered more than 50 of the world’s tallest buildings without climbing gear or safety equipment, used only his hands and feet to scale the 150-meter Franklin Tower in Paris in about half an hour in the early morning sunlight Tuesday.Before beginning his ascent, he paid homage to the eponymous hero of the blockbuster film Spider-Man. “The character of Spider-Man is interesting because he is a hero of the modern age, a kind of new Robin Hood,” Robert told reporters.A small crowd clapped and cheered when he reached the top and he signed a few autographs when he re-emerged from the bottom of the building. Robert forgot his keys and had to climb to his home on the eighth floor in France at the age of 12. That experience encouraged Robert to conquer some of the world’s tallest buildings without any security devices.His short, slim stature makes him nimble as a monkey when climbing a building, while his bulging muscles testify to the strength he needs for his hobby. His tally includes the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York, the 54-floor Shinjuku Tower in Tokyo and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He also conquered the 230-meter-high International Ocean-Shipping Building in Shanghai in February last year.But the amateur Spider-Man has several arrests and minor charges to his name for climbing skyscrapers and other landmarks without permission.In France, Robert climbed about 20 buildings, and due to the respect for his performance as the sole skyscraper climber in the world, the French police usually had sympathy for him. But response was different in other countries. Officials were worried about housebreaking, endangering others and degradation. He was arrested many times for illegal climbing after he reached the top.“Fortunately, the courts discharged me every time after they understood what I had done,” Robert said. Robert risked a year in jail to reach the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago. Instead, the judge ordered him not to illegally touch the building for one year.His wife, Nicole, and three children respect Robert’s choice. They don’t follow Robert for climbs far away from their home but they are the first ones he calls after he reaches the top of a building.“Modern people are only willing to believe in their computers, while I believe in myself,” said 39-year-old Robert.What might be the winnings for this man who makes it his daily business to flirt with death? Certainly it appears to be little to do with money.“Winning is the feeling of triumph, of doing what I want to do. I am lucky enough to be able to pursue my dream. If other people don’t approve of it, that doesn’t bother me — it’s not their dream. Is it exciting to be close to falling? This has happened to me hundreds of times. It is as if you are being reborn again and again and again.”(SD-Agencies)