The ‘Forgotten’ Ratcatchers of Paris Go on Strike

The rats were cavorting in Paris: citing a variety of grievances, the city’s ratcatchers spent Tuesday on strike. Several dozen workers gathered outside City Hall with a banner that read, “The staff are angry,” Agence France-Presse reports. (They also laid a dead rat under the banner, for effect.)

Among their demands: reinforcements, and payment of last year’s bonus, which was lost in an administrative shuffle. But mostly, The Local writes, they just want a little more respect. “They only want to be recognized,” union representative Olivier Garret told AFP.

“They are the ones exposed to the most difficult tasks… they have always been forgotten, and they have always been the ones to do the dirty work,” he continued. Many ratcatchers have quit over the the past 18 months, the union says.

Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, plans to send each of the employees a personalized thank-you note.

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