CITY OF FILTH
SHOCKING pictures have emerged in Paris showing streets littered with trash as residents slam the mayor for allowing city to become a “rubbish dump.”
The images, which emerged on social media over the past few days, show the historic Parisian streets overflowing with garbage, soiled mattresses and various other kind of filth.
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The hashtag 'SaccageParis,' meaning 'trash Paris,' trended online over the weekend as furious residents hit out at the regime.
Started by an anonymous Twitter account called 'Paris Propne,' the movement expressed their frustration with Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s "abandonment of the city."
“By launching Saccage Paris, I did not think it would take this magnitude,” they tweeted.
“Yet not surprising. The current disaster could not remain without a massive reaction.”
They added: “We are thousands [and we] say stop. Behind this [movement]? Just ordinary locals.”
Chief among those criticised by residents is Mayor and socialist party member Anne Hidalgo.
The politician, who became the city's first female leader, was re-elected for a second term last year.
Her political opponent, Marine Le Pen, was quick to condemn her handling of the situation saying that the thousands of images shared online "breaks the hearts of lovers of Paris."
She tweeted: "Bravo to the revolted Parisians. The degradation of our beautiful capital by the Hidalgo team is a national disgrace that should not leave any French indifferent.”
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In response, Paris City Council officials claimed that a 10 per reduction of employed street cleaners, due to the pandemic, were to blame for the disrepair.
They added that: “Like all cities in France, Paris is faced with incivility and problems of regulating public space.”
However, furious Parisians say the downfall of the city began long before the pandemic started as they dismissed claims that the cluttered streets were the result of a smaller workforce.
Responding in a series of tweets, French 'L'Opinion' journalist, Emmanuelle Ducros likened the famous Saint Ambroise square to a "shanty town."
She wrote: 'The problem is not the cleaners. It is the abandonment of the city, the colonization of the public space by delirious developments.'
She also pointed to exposed electrical boxes, filthy street furniture and piles of rubbish in the street.
Paris is currently under a month-long lockdown as the nation battles a third Covid wave.
Last week, the Sun reported a number of mass gatherings in the capital as residents flouted lockdown rules.
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Doctors have since warned that hospitals could be overwhelmed by surging infections, with their ability to care for the sick under threat.
They added that they could possibly be forced to choose which patients they have the resources to save if admissions continue to rise.
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