Paris Fights Rat Infestation for Over a Century: From Bounties to Smart Traps
Paris has been battling rat infestations for over a century, evolving its control methods from rewarding rat catchers to deploying modern smart traps. Climate change and street litter exacerbate the problem, and even the latest smart traps struggle to reduce the overall rat population, emphasizing the importance of environmental improvement.
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- 📰 Published: May 5, 2026 at 20:14
- 🔍 Collected: May 5, 2026 at 20:31 (17 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 5, 2026 at 23:41 (3h 9m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Tseng Yi-hsuan, Paris, 5th) Paris has long suffered from rat infestations. From rat bounty mechanisms over a century ago to modern smart traps, prevention methods have gradually evolved, coupled with basic infrastructure updates and enhanced waste disposal. Earlier this year, the rat problem was also a hot topic in the local elections in Paris.
In Paris, rats occasionally appear even in popular tourist areas such as the banks of the Seine, Notre Dame de Paris square, or the lawns next to the Louvre. Besides spreading diseases and threatening residents' health, they also gnaw on plant roots and damage park greenery.
Paris has a long history of fighting rat infestations. Le Figaro reported on December 31, 1901, that as underground facilities expanded, rat populations also invaded Paris. These rodents hid in places difficult for humans to intervene, knew where to find more and better leftovers, and even learned to evade traps, taking bait without being caught.
The report at the time humorously stated that rats were very cunning, so "to deal with them, one can only outsmart them." The Parisian municipal authorities mobilized citizens and rat catchers, planning a reward mechanism to encourage rat catching, akin to a "rat extermination contest."
An article in Le Point also mentioned that in the 19th century, Parisian municipal authorities hired professional rat catchers who would exchange rat tails for bounties from the authorities.
Today, in the city of Paris with approximately 2 million inhabitants, the rat problem remains unresolved.
Part of Paris's rat problem is due to global warming favoring reproduction and the large amount of food waste on the streets. Although the exact number of rats cannot be precisely estimated, the 5th arrondissement of Paris mentions on its website that the rat population is about 1.5 to 1.75 times the city's population, with some media even estimating 4 to 6 million rats.
In 2017, Paris formulated a plan to significantly reduce the number of rats. Methods included deploying rodenticides and mechanical traps, cleaning rat-infested areas and potential nesting sites, and reducing rats' access to water and food. This was primarily handled by the Municipal Sanitation Action Service (SMASH).
However, if overall environmental conditions are poor, rodenticides or traps may not be effective. Therefore, the focus of rat prevention is to make the environment unsuitable for rats to live in.
The Paris city government's strategy includes several measures, such as reducing rats' access to waste. Parks now use enclosed containers or lidded bins, and waste collection is more frequent in crowded areas. Additionally, park drainage designs have been modified to make it difficult for rats to climb from underground to the surface.
Furthermore, the city government has installed metal nets in specific areas to prevent rats from nesting. People who throw food on the streets or green spaces can be fined, as food left on the ground or bread fed to pigeons often becomes a food source for rats. According to Paris city government statistics, 438 fines were issued for this in 2020.
In this context, the 5th arrondissement of Paris adopted enclosed waste bins and installed anti-rat nets, while also strengthening cleaning and waste collection efforts. However, these were still insufficient to alleviate the problem, so they began experimenting with new technologies.
Last year, the 5th arrondissement of Paris followed the 17th arrondissement in adopting SmartTrap from Belgium. This system uses detectors combined with a patented algorithm to display real-time data on rat frequency, capture numbers, and bait consumption. It can also switch between detection and capture modes online.
The 17th arrondissement caught 200 rats within 7 weeks of trialing 8 SmartTraps. Such figures indicate that traps might control local density but struggle to reduce the overall rat population size.
In Paris, the rat problem even became a hot topic in the mayoral election in March this year. Candidates from various political parties proposed relevant policies, such as increasing anti-rat equipment, strengthening waste collection, or using dry ice to suffocate rats, aiming to curb the continued expansion of the rat population.
Grégory Moreau, a candidate for the 9th arrondissement mayor belonging to the Animalist Party (Parti animaliste), proposed to citizens a change of mindset, attempting human-rat "coexistence" with a pet rat. His argument was that rats eat garbage, thus helping to reduce the amount of waste in Paris. He received only 1.44% of the votes, or 377 votes, in the first round and did not advance to the runoff. (Edited by Tang Pei-chun) 1150505
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(Central News Agency reporter Tseng Yi-hsuan, Paris, 5th) Paris has long suffered from rat infestations. From rat bounty mechanisms over a century ago to modern smart traps, prevention methods have gradually evolved, coupled with basic infrastructure updates and enhanced waste disposal. Earlier this year, the rat problem was also a hot topic in the local elections in Paris.
In Paris, rats occasionally appear even in popular tourist areas such as the banks of the Seine, Notre Dame de Paris square, or the lawns next to the Louvre. Besides spreading diseases and threatening residents' health, they also gnaw on plant roots and damage park greenery.
Paris has a long history of fighting rat infestations. Le Figaro reported on December 31, 1901, that as underground facilities expanded, rat populations also invaded Paris. These rodents hid in places difficult for humans to intervene, knew where to find more and better leftovers, and even learned to evade traps, taking bait without being caught.
The report at the time humorously stated that rats were very cunning, so "to deal with them, one can only outsmart them." The Parisian municipal authorities mobilized citizens and rat catchers, planning a reward mechanism to encourage rat catching, akin to a "rat extermination contest."
An article in Le Point also mentioned that in the 19th century, Parisian municipal authorities hired professional rat catchers who would exchange rat tails for bounties from the authorities.
Today, in the city of Paris with approximately 2 million inhabitants, the rat problem remains unresolved.
Part of Paris's rat problem is due to global warming favoring reproduction and the large amount of food waste on the streets. Although the exact number of rats cannot be precisely estimated, the 5th arrondissement of Paris mentions on its website that the rat population is about 1.5 to 1.75 times the city's population, with some media even estimating 4 to 6 million rats.
In 2017, Paris formulated a plan to significantly reduce the number of rats. Methods included deploying rodenticides and mechanical traps, cleaning rat-infested areas and potential nesting sites, and reducing rats' access to water and food. This was primarily handled by the Municipal Sanitation Action Service (SMASH).
However, if overall environmental conditions are poor, rodenticides or traps may not be effective. Therefore, the focus of rat prevention is to make the environment unsuitable for rats to live in.
The Paris city government's strategy includes several measures, such as reducing rats' access to waste. Parks now use enclosed containers or lidded bins, and waste collection is more frequent in crowded areas. Additionally, park drainage designs have been modified to make it difficult for rats to climb from underground to the surface.
Furthermore, the city government has installed metal nets in specific areas to prevent rats from nesting. People who throw food on the streets or green spaces can be fined, as food left on the ground or bread fed to pigeons often becomes a food source for rats. According to Paris city government statistics, 438 fines were issued for this in 2020.
In this context, the 5th arrondissement of Paris adopted enclosed waste bins and installed anti-rat nets, while also strengthening cleaning and waste collection efforts. However, these were still insufficient to alleviate the problem, so they began experimenting with new technologies.
Last year, the 5th arrondissement of Paris followed the 17th arrondissement in adopting SmartTrap from Belgium. This system uses detectors combined with a patented algorithm to display real-time data on rat frequency, capture numbers, and bait consumption. It can also switch between detection and capture modes online.
The 17th arrondissement caught 200 rats within 7 weeks of trialing 8 SmartTraps. Such figures indicate that traps might control local density but struggle to reduce the overall rat population size.
In Paris, the rat problem even became a hot topic in the mayoral election in March this year. Candidates from various political parties proposed relevant policies, such as increasing anti-rat equipment, strengthening waste collection, or using dry ice to suffocate rats, aiming to curb the continued expansion of the rat population.
Grégory Moreau, a candidate for the 9th arrondissement mayor belonging to the Animalist Party (Parti animaliste), proposed to citizens a change of mindset, attempting human-rat "coexistence" with a pet rat. His argument was that rats eat garbage, thus helping to reduce the amount of waste in Paris. He received only 1.44% of the votes, or 377 votes, in the first round and did not advance to the runoff. (Edited by Tang Pei-chun) 1150505
Stand with the facts, your sponsorship is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-hand News" APP to get the latest news instantly.
The text, images, and audio-visual content on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or used without authorization.
Keywords: