It has often been reported that Paris is home to around six million rats, which works out to about two rats for every human living within city limits. The population is so large that a British magazine columnist suggested a new motto for the 2024 Olympics, which are set to open this week: “Citius, Altius, Fortius, Rattus.”

Rats might make for compelling protagonists in animated film – you should google the 2007 hit “Ratatouille” – but in real life, they are often harbingers of disease. For the moment, they are also taking up unwanted space in the city’s Olympic spotlight.