“We should study them and learn to live with them”, Ms Markovic concluded, zapping the Hatte motion before advocating the cementing of holes in sewers’ ceilings and the use of contraceptive pellets and dry ice to gently push back the invading hordes. Hence the mascot, which has taken French social media by storm. (After all, the self-deprecating mascot of the 1984 New Orleans World Fair was Alton, the cockroach). But less than two years away, the prospect of the Olympics is no cause for smiles in Paris. Despite Macron’s grand vow that Notre Dame Cathedral would re-open before the Games, the likelihood is small. The city’s traffic is gridlocked wilfully by a Mayor who intends to push out cars far more effectively than surmulots. Most of the new sports infrastructure, including a swimming pool and an arena, is being built in the same part of north Paris that regularly sees aggressions by local gangs against sports spectators, most recently at the Cup Final at the Stade de France. Perhaps the rat will simply figure the crowds trying to cope with all this.
