Rats, a sole worry for Olympic hosts Paris

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While the Paris Olympics is set to be a festival of socialising and intermingling, city authorities are keen for visitors not to encounter any of the capital's notorious furry inhabitants.

The French capital's abundant rat population is no joke for the city's residents - and could be an embarrassment as the Olympics spotlight falls on Paris. "All of the Olympic sites and celebration areas were analysed [for rats] before the Games," deputy mayor Anne-Claire Boux, who has responsibility for public health, told AFP.

As well as ordering a deep clean to remove any food residues that might tempt the scurriers from their underground lairs, the mayor's rodent specialists also worked to close up exit points from the sewers. "Where there were areas with lots of rats, we put traps in place ahead of the Games," Boux said.

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