‘It’s a rubbish bin’: Parisians fight for the soul of their blighted city

Angry residents have rallied to a campaign against the trashing' of the capital. Some blame mayor Anne Hidalgo while others see the protests as a far-right ploy

In the middle of Paris's third Covid lockdown last March, a hashtag appeared on Twitter with a photo of a lock on the Canal Saint-Martin that runs through the north of the city clogged with litter, plastic bags and bottles.

Images of Paris looking worse for wear are nothing new but, within days, dozens of pictures of overflowing bins, broken pavements and graffiti-covered walls appeared with the same hashtag - #SaccageParis - which roughly translates as Trashed Paris.