With the Paris Olympics less than a year away, French authorities want to make sure the bed bugs don’t bite during the Games, and have started a drive to exterminate the pests.
Key points:
- Paris’s deputy mayor says the government needs to put an action plan in place to deal with the “scourge” of bed bugs
- The country’s transport minister has said he will discuss the issue with transport operators
- Bed bug bites leave red areas, blisters or large rashes on the skin, and can cause intense itching or allergic reactions
Social media users have been publishing footage of the insects crawling around in high-speed trains and the Paris metro, alongside a rash of online articles about bed bugs in cinemas and even Charles de Gaulle airport.
The reports have reached the highest levels of government.
“The state urgently needs to put an action plan in place against this scourge as France is preparing to welcome the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024,” the capital’s deputy mayor, Emmanuel Gregoire, said in a letter to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne this week.
Transport Minister Clement Beaune said on Friday he would discuss the issue with transport operators next week.
Bed bugs get their name from their habit of nesting in mattresses, although they can also hide in clothes and in luggage.
They come out at night to feed on human blood.
France’s national health agency recommended that people check their hotel beds when travelling and be cautious about bringing second-hand furniture or pre-owned mattresses into their homes.
Once bed bugs were sighted in a home, affected rooms must be treated quickly, it said.
Bed bug bites leave red areas, blisters or large rashes on the skin, and can cause intense itching or allergic reactions.
They also often cause psychological distress, sleeping issues, anxiety and depression.
The appearance of the insects, which can grow up to about 7 millimetres long, is unrelated to hygiene levels, according to the French authorities.
At the Paris Gare de Lyon train station, travellers said they doubted whether authorities would be able to get on top of the problem.
“I’m worried about it,” Laura Mmadi, a sales worker heading to the south of France, said.
“I’ll keep my luggage closed to stop [bed bugs] getting into my home.
“Once I get home, I’ll have to wash all my clothes.”
Coming into Paris from Nice, Sophie Ruscica said she had inspected her seat closely for any signs of the insects.
“It stressed me out,” she said.
“I had to take the train and I wondered whether I would find bed bugs.
“But then again, one can find them in cinemas and just about everywhere.”
In a report published in July, health agency Anses said that between 2017 and 2022, bed bugs infested more than one in 10 French households.
“Everyone is panicking,” pest control store manager Sacha Krief said.
“People can really get depressed, even paranoid over it.”
Deputy Mayor Gregoire called on insurers to include bed bug cover in house insurance policies, as low-income people rarely had the means to call in pest control firms.
Reuters/AFP