France Reassures Its Citizens Protection As bedbugs sweep Paris

The French government has vowed action to “reassure and protect” the public as its capital Paris reports a “widespread” rise in bedbugs.

French Transport Minister Clement Beaune has said he would convene a meeting this week to “undertake further action” to “reassure and protect” the public from the reported surge in the numbers of the blood-sucking insect.

French transport operators remain “vigilant” about bedbugs following reports of what was said to be sightings in public transport but say there have been no sightings in recent days.

“It’s mainly due to the movement of people, populations traveling, the fact that people stay in short-term accommodation and bring back bedbugs in their suitcases or luggage,” Johanna Fite from the Anses department of risk assessment told CNN.

She added there was an “escalation” in numbers because bedbugs were increasingly resistant to insecticides.

“We are observing more and more bedbug populations which are resistant, so there is no miracle treatment to get rid of them,” Fite said.

However, the Paris deputy mayor warned against “hysteria” over the issue, noting there had been an “increase in Parisians who are referring to the town hall’s information services for information on bedbugs”.

“Professional companies which intervene in residential areas are telling us that currently the proportion of interventions for bedbugs is atypical compared to normal and is increasing rapidly,” he said.

The news comes as Paris gets ready to host the 2024 Olympics Games, but officials say they are not worried.