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Paris closes parks and gardens as city declares war on rats

The Local France/AFP
The Local France/AFP - [email protected]
Paris closes parks and gardens as city declares war on rats
Photo: Jans Canon/Flickr

Paris officials have announced a major crackdown on rats including the closure of parks and gardens around the City of Light.

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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.
   
But they remain a health hazard and eyesore for Parisians as well as an embarrassment after pictures of them scavenging on the grass in front of the Louvre museum in 2014 made foreign newspapers.
 
   
"In order to stop the recent increase in the presence of rats around Paris, an immediate and targeted action plan has been put in place," Paris city hall announced on Wednesday.
   
Eradicating the vermin is "impossible", the statement said, but reducing their number "significantly" can be achieved by blocking exits from the sewer system, reducing their habitats and trapping them.
   
Around half a dozen squares and gardens have been temporarily closed and traps have been laid, with other areas set to follow including the Champs de Mars park in front of the Eiffel Tower.
 
   
Other measures will include new rat-proof rubbish bins and efforts to ensure garbage or food is not left for long periods in the street.
   
Pest control experts estimate that there are around two rats for every one of the two million people who live in central Paris.
 
A recent blog post on the site "Vivre Le Marais", a community website for those living in the Marais quarter of central Paris, mentioned how the writer had counted some 200 rats inthe gardens around the St Jacques tower.

The blog post called the garden a “dump” and said the rat problem was not solved it would become “a hotbed of infection and a shame for Paris.” 

(Vive Le Marais)
 
The latest rat crackdown in Paris sounds a lot like The Local's April Fools' gag from 2014 when we convinced (some) readers that Paris had made a five-point plan to become the world's first rat-free city. 
 
Admittedly, our five points weren't exactly the same as the plan released on Thursday, but they're not far off
 

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