'Everyone is panicking': Emergency meetings in France to tackle bedbug 'scourge'

In a report published in July, health agency Anses said that between 2017 and 2022, bedbugs had infested more than one in ten French households
'Everyone is panicking': Emergency meetings in France to tackle bedbug 'scourge'

Bedbugs are so named due to their habit of nesting in mattresses, though they can also live in furniture, curtains, and luggage. File Picture: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

The French Government says it will be hosting emergency meetings this week to examine a recent surge in bedbug cases.

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 bedbugs in cinemas and even Charles de Gaulle airport.

The issue has been amplified by the country's ongoing hosting of this year's Rugby World Cup, and the fact that Paris is currently preparing to welcome athletes and fans from around the world for next year's Olympic Games.

Thousands of Irish rugby fans will be in the French capital this weekend to watch Ireland take on Scotland in nearby St Denis in what is their final group game of the competition. 

Bedbugs had largely disappeared from daily life by the 1950s, but have made a resurgence in recent decades. They have also become increasingly resistant to chemical treatments.

Bedbugs are so named due to their habit of nesting in mattresses, though they can also live in furniture, curtains, and luggage. 

They come out at night to feed on human blood, with their bites leaving red areas, blisters or large rashes on the skin, which can cause itching or allergic reactions.

Their bites can also often cause psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and sleeping issues.

"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 he will be discussing the issue with transport operators next week.

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. I'll keep my luggage closed to stop (bedbugs) getting into my home. Once I get home, I'll have to wash all my clothes," said Laura Mmadi, a sales worker heading to the south of France. 

Coming into Paris from Nice, Sophie Ruscica said she had inspected her seat closely for any signs of the insects that feed on human blood and can live in a wide range of habitats as well as beds.

"It stressed me out. I had to take the train and I wondered whether I would find bedbugs. But then again, one can find them in cinemas and just about everywhere," she said.

In a report published in July, health agency Anses said that between 2017 and 2022, bedbugs had infested more than one in ten 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 bedbug cover in house insurance policies, as low-income people rarely had the means to call in pest control firms.

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