PARIS (AP) — Rats are on the rampage in the elegant garden of the Louvre Museum, so bold they romp onto the grass in broad daylight, defying sanitation workers and scaring tourists visiting the site.

The hot weather in Paris has brought out many picnicking visitors, whose garbage left in the garden is a feast for the rats.

Jean-Claude Ndzana Ekani, a museum employee who works with technicians from a deratting company, said the vermin have also been helped by animal lovers who dig up the poison and "give water to the rats."

The lush area which extends into the Tuileries Gardens gives a rat plenty of places to hide, but still they romp openly.

On Tuesday, Dutch tourist Evelyne Delemarre, 31, let out a piercing scream when a rat scampered by her.