French Le Parisien TV has released footage revealing the extent of the French capital’s rat infestation. The video, shot by a garbage collector on the left bank of the River Seine on December 9, 2017, shows a mountain of rats inside a dumpster.
The horrifying footage shows large gray rats piling up to get their share of food and sometimes even jumping on the high walls of the garbage can.
The broadcaster spoke to the unnamed garbage collector, who said that this is nothing unusual for the French capital "for both Parisians and tourists, who come to visit the most beautiful city in the world."
"A colleague told me that a rat had jumped onto his throat and another on his arm," the man said, adding that so far he knows of no instances when rats bit his colleagues, however, "we do not want to wait until there is a tragedy."
He added that the number of rats in areas near the river has increased in the past year and called on the city authorities to eliminate the issue.
Paris authorities told Le Parisien that they were aware of the rat problem as more and more of them are seen in public places. According to deputy mayor in charge of cleanliness, Mao Peninou, some 1.5 million euros were allocated to fight the issue in September 2017.
