Paris ministry uses cats to catch 鈥榬ats in hallway鈥�
Cats and rat traps have been brought into some Paris government ministry buildings after an infestation of rats and other rodents.
The home office (ministry of the interior) has been especially affected, , including the hallways and also the apartment of Jacqueline Gourault, the minister鈥檚 secretary.
The home office minister has installed rat traps in a bid to curb the problem, but another minister - the prime minister鈥檚 secretary Christophe Castaner - has gone even further.
Castaner, whose offices have also been affected by rodents, has brought in cats to deal with the issue.
The fluffy rodent-killing creatures have been affectionately named Nomi and No茅, in honour of the Breton foreign affairs minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, as 鈥淣ominoe鈥� was the name of the first king of Brittany.
Rats are often thought to be a significant problem in Paris, with a seminar in the city organised in 2016 even named 鈥淪trategies for Better Management of Rats in Urban Areas鈥�.
Earlier this year a new 鈧�1.5 million anti-rat scheme was launched in the city by the Paris council, in a bid to put in place 鈥渁 very fast plan of eradication of these rodents across Paris鈥�.
As , in a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Disney Pixar comedy animation, Ratatouille, which follows the fictional story of a rat in Paris, pictured above: 鈥淒o Ratatouille and his friends present a real risk to the public health of Parisians?鈥�
If the state of the ministry buildings is anything to go by, it appears that the success of this year's anti-rat scheme is yet to be fully ascertained...
