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In Paris, A New Breed Of Urban Outlaw: Pigeon Feeders

Feeding pigeons is forbidden by the French law, and can lead to fines of up to 450 euros. But that doesn’t stop the army of feeders in Paris from risking it all with their bags of illicit bread crumbs. Now the mess has arrived on the Internet.

Some 80,000 pigeons are said to plague the French capital
Some 80,000 pigeons are said to plague the French capital

*NEWSBITES

PARIS - It's late at night, in a deserted Parisian neighborhood. A few furtive silhouettes can be seen in the distance, making strange movements, working hastily. They know what they are doing is forbidden by the law. They know they could get caught. But they are on a mission: the benevolent, yet criminal mission of feeding pigeons.

This new class of urban delinquents, called nourrisseurs (feeders), is starting to seriously annoy a majority of Parisians, who can't help but see the gray city doves as mere flying rats. "They think they're doing a good deed, but feeders are increasing pigeon overcrowding which leads to large concentrated quantities of feces and can damage public and private goods," says a Paris City Hall spokesperson.

The sometimes costly and time-consuming activity is also reprehensible: feeding pigeons is forbidden by the French law and can lead to fines for bird-lovers of up to 450 euros. But that doesn't stop the flying rodent rescuers –mostly women over 60, although they are a very mixed bunch —from saving up their bread crumbs.

The issue is now being addressed in public hearings, and has led to innumerable studies, and the battle has recently reached a new level, as Internet users joined the fight: groups supporting – or in favor of eradicating — the members of the Columbidae family flourish all over Facebook. And we all know that's a public square where you can be hit by other kinds of droppings.

Read the full story in French by Caroline Sallé

Photo – AnnieGreenSprings

*Newsbites are digest items, not direct translations

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

That Man In Mariupol: Is Putin Using A Body Double To Avoid Public Appearances?

Putin really is meeting with Xi in Moscow — we know that. But there are credible experts saying that the person who showed up in Mariupol the day before was someone else — the latest report that the Russian president uses a doppelganger for meetings and appearances.

screen grab of Putin in a dark down jacket

During the visit to Mariupol, the Presidential office only released screen grabs of a video

Russian President Press Office/TASS via ZUMA
Anna Akage

Have no doubt, the Vladimir Putin we’re seeing alongside Xi Jinping this week is the real Vladimir Putin. But it’s a question that is being asked after a range of credible experts have accused the Russian president of sending a body double for a high-profile visit this past weekend in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

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Reports and conspiracy theories have circulated in the past about the Russian leader using a stand-in because of health or security issues. But the reaction to the Kremlin leader's trip to Mariupol is the first time that multiple credible sources — including those who’ve spent time with him in the past — have cast doubt on the identity of the man who showed up in the southeastern Ukrainian city that Russia took over last spring after a months-long siege.

Russian opposition politician Gennady Gudkov is among those who confidently claim that a Putin look-alike, or rather one of his look-alikes, was in the Ukrainian city.

"Now that there is a war going on, I don't rule out the possibility that someone strongly resembling or disguised as Putin is playing his role," Gudkov said.

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