Oh rats, leave them alone, says rodent-friendly Paris politician

It has black button eyes and long, thin whiskers that tremble when it looks around curiously.

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Unlike most rats, this one has a name, Plume, and gets to enjoy the rare privilege of wandering around Paris on the shoulder of its owner, a local politician.

Gregory Moreau, a Paris district deputy mayor, is on a mission to reconcile residents with the capital's population of rats which, it is said, outnumber the inner city's two million human residents by a big margin.

"Hello, have you ever seen a rat?", Moreau asked a woman carrying two shopping bags around a market in Belleville, a bustling eastern Parisian neighbourhood. "Look what I'm carrying on my shoulder."

The woman eyed the rodent sceptically, then broke out in a smile. "Is that Ratatouille?", she asked, a reference to the titular character of the Disney animated film about a rat that can cook.

Myths and tales about rats have been part of Paris folklore for centuries, giving the rodents an overwhelmingly unfavourable rap.