PARIS — Rats are on the rampage in the elegant garden of the Louvre Museum, so bold they romp on the grass in broad daylight, defying death threats from sanitation workers and scaring tourists visiting the site.
Las ratas de los jardines del Louvre, nueva atracción para los turistas. http://t.co/0Go6MtZebk @LeNouvelObs pic.twitter.com/dq3e4lVBiq
— Hernán Campaniello (@hernancampa) July 28, 2014
2 rats pour un Parisien. Et au Louvre, on les voit > http://t.co/KXut5zpuPb – pic.twitter.com/NR75HZ4B6T
— Sciences et Avenir (@Sciences_Avenir) July 29, 2014
Les rats, meilleurs amis du touriste en face du @MuseeLouvre http://t.co/7WMIuCpgTF #Paris pic.twitter.com/YuQKfKfuE2
— Mr mécénat (@Mr_mecenat) July 28, 2014
The hot weather in Paris has brought many picnicking visitors to the garden, whose garbage is a feast for the rats.
Jean-Claude Ndzana Ekani, a museum employee who works with technicians from a de-ratting company, said the vermin have also been helped by animal-lovers “who dig up the products and give water to the rats.”
The lush area which extends into the Tuileries Gardens gives rats plenty of places to hide, but still they romp openly.
On Tuesday, Dutch tourist Evelyne Delemarre, 31, let out a piercing scream when a rat scampered by her.