When Paris Metro authorities announced on Tuesday morning that traffic on the busy Line 1 was suspended weary commuters would hardly have been surprised.
Those who travel on line 1 know it's not the most reliable of Metro lines as of late, with frequent morning delays reported.
On Tuesday they were told the reason for traffic coming to an abrupt halt was an “act of malevolence” by a passenger.
It turns out the “malevolent” act was a man bringing a goat onto the Metro at the Tuileries station, which naturally caused a little panic among passengers.
“Stuck on the Metro because of a man with a goat!” tweeted Kenza Bennani. “He's refusing to get off.”
“We heard a woman shouting “stop”, “stop”. Everyone got up thinking someone was being attacked,” he said. “Then we saw this man with a goat. He refused to get off and the police were called.”
(Photo: Matthieu Frobert/Twitter)
He said when the police came the man tried to flee with the goat before being arrested. Paris transport authority RATP told The Local that the goat was in fact stolen.
Puis on a aperçu cet homme avec sa chèvre ?
Il refuse de descendre le police a été demandée ! pic.twitter.com/vxdudAp57o
— Kenza Bennani ? (@KenzaBennani04) November 13, 2018
The man with the goat was also caught on camera by several other passengers on line 1.
Une chèvre s'est retrouvée dans le métro parisien https://t.co/VMmrETg9pz
— NJB Nadine-Joyce Boy (@NjbJoyce) November 13, 2018
“This is why the traffic is blocked. A bloke is on the Metro with a goat. How crazy is that. Left earlier only to arrive later because of that,” said tweeter iBao.
Ligne 1 bloquée à cause de… ? pic.twitter.com/xWnXxVqDwf
— iBao (@iBao) November 13, 2018
Quand tu prends ton bouc avec toi dans le métro et que ça bloque tout le monde : ???? #ratp #paris #ligne1 pic.twitter.com/qWBUDWitx1
— Matthieu Frobert (@matthou_picchu) November 13, 2018
Other passengers simply posted images of the knock-on effects with hordes of passengers waiting for trains at packed Metro stations after traffic was suspended between Chatelet and Concorde.
Vie quotidienne ? @ClientsRATP @Ligne1_RATP pic.twitter.com/xn84Bmb0fO
— Karine Dana (@karine_dana) November 13, 2018
Many however did not see the funny side to the story.
“Can you believe I'm late because some bloke brought a goat on the Metro. The world has gone mad,” tweeted one angry commuter.
Metro services eventually returned to normal after the man was arrested.
Metro authority RATP confirmed to The Local that it is in fact against the law to take a goat on the Paris Metro.
Other animals are allowed however but there are strict rules when it comes to the size of dogs that are permitted to travel (see link below).
READ ALSO: The strange rules of the Paris Metro you should know about
He was Welsh and just on holiday with his girlfriend.
Boggy, you’re a horrible person. I’ve seen a few of your comments on The Local France and they’re distasteful. Stop being so nasty.