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RATS

French government brings in cats to fight the rats

The French government has welcomed cats into its prestigious ministries in Paris in a bid to quell a rat infestation.

Published: 20 December 2017 17:42 CET

French government brings in cats to fight the rats

A rat pictured close to the Rue de Rivoli. Photo: Philippe Lopez/Flickr

Parisians are no strangers to their close neighbours, the rats.

But now it seems these pesky rodents are getting above their station and are invading government ministries in the French capital.

The Interior Ministry in Place Beauvau in Paris next to the president's Elysee Palace is among those affected, with the hallways and the apartment of Jacqueline Gourault, the minister’s secretary, also playing host to the clever critters.

In response Gourault has installed rat traps all over her room, according to French media reports.

But she isn't alone.

The secretary to the prime minister, Christophe Castaner, who is also suffering from the rat infestation, has resorted to bringing in cats to fight them off.

These feline allies have been named Noé and Nomi after “Nominoe” the first king of Brittany, in honour of the Breton foreign affairs minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Rats are believed to easily outnumber Parisians in the French capital and their numbers are increasing.

The city's rodents were given an image overhaul in 2007 in the hit animated film “Ratatouille” which depicted them cooking in a famous restaurant.

Nevertheless in December 2016, Paris officials announced a major crackdown on rats including the closure of parks and gardens around the City of Light.

Why Parisians need to stop worrying and learn to love the rats

Photo: AFP/Zoopolis

Paris has declared war on its four million rats, even in some places bringing back the guillotine to help exterminate them. But instead the city should embrace its cuddly rodent population, says a major publicity campaign to promote the much-maligned creature.

“Stop the massacre of rats,” is the message on advertising posters on the walls of dozens of the city’s Metro stations, which show soft-focus pictures of rats and state that rodents “are sensitive individuals” which can “feel emotions.”

The campaign was launched on Thursday by Zoopolis, an animal rights group which says it defends all animals regardless of human preferences. It also says its campaign to promote the rights of rats may be a world first.

“Rats should not be seen as synonymous with filth,” Philippe Reigné of Zoopolis told The Local, arguing that Paris authorities are as motivated by the damage rats cause to the image of the city as to hygiene issues.

“They are not aggressive and they flee humans,” and help reduce rubbish by eating around seven kilos of garbage over their lifespan, which is around a year, said Reigné.

“It is hypocritical to say that the campaign to exterminate rats in Paris is a matter of public health,” he said, arguing that there has not been a sudden explosion in the number of rodents in the French capital.

The more visible presence of rats is due to flooding over the past couple of years, and to major infrastructure works, which has forced many rats to leave their usual haunts and run around streets and parks.

Images of them frolicking in the grounds of the Louvre and other tourist spots were carried in media around the world, much to the embarrassment of Paris city hall.

However much the Zoopolis campaign might serve to change the image of the rat in public opinion, it is unlikely to lead Paris authorities to ease their all-out war on rodents.

This summer city hall said a total of 4,950 anti-rat operations had taken place between January 2018 and July 2018 compared to 1,700 last year. This saw 200 parks and 600 buildings treated against rats.

One hundred and forty people have been fined for “compulsively feeding” the rodents, 327 street rubbish bins have been replaced by airtight containers, and covers have been placed on more manholes to try and prevent rats from accessing the streets via the sewers.

And in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, which is particularly affected by the rat invasion, authorities have even tried placing mini-guillotines in sewers to try to stem the rodent tide.

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