Paris— Just 10 months before the opening of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, the French capital is facing a bedbug invasion.
Initially, these tiny pests were reported in hotels and vacation rental apartments throughout the city during the summer. However, they have now spread to movie theaters, national high-speed trains, and even the Paris Metro system. A metro train driver was shocked to find some of these unwelcome guests in his driver’s cabin.
Horrified train passengers have shared videos of the insects on social media, causing many travelers to be cautious before sitting down or placing fabric bags or coats on the floor. One person reported that passengers were “panicking” upon discovering bedbugs in the train carriage and being unable to get off until the next station.
Some travelers have even chosen to go to Morocco instead.
Upon debarking from a passenger ferry that arrived from Marseille in southern France, Moroccan port authorities in Tangiers found bedbugs. This marked the first time Moroccan officials noticed bedbugs from France, leading them to thoroughly clean and disinfect the ship and its cargo before allowing passengers to disembark.
Moroccan media sources reported that Tangiers port and health authorities have implemented additional monitoring protocols to prevent the spread of bedbugs from incoming vessels from France.
Paris-based companies specializing in insect infestation treatments have been overwhelmed in recent weeks. Parisians are spending an average of $500 on treating their homes if they discover these tiny bugs.
Paris City Hall is particularly concerned about the potential risk to visitors during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer. Deputy Mayor of Paris Emmanuel Grégoire wrote to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, stating that bedbugs are a public health issue and should be treated as such. Grégoire called on the government to develop a national action plan to address the problem.
Transport Minister Clément Beaune has already scheduled a meeting this week with various public transport operators to reassure and protect travelers.
How to protect yourself from bedbugs
Bedbugs are small but visible to the naked eye. They can easily spread and are known to hide in mattresses, curtains, floorboards, electrical sockets, and even behind wallpaper. They come out at night to feed on human blood.
In a bustling city like Paris, tourists can unknowingly transport these pesky bugs in their suitcases from an infested hotel. They can then travel on the metro or other means of public transportation and leave the bedbugs on the seats.
Exterminators recommend acting quickly if you spot bedbugs. Infected clothes and bed linens should be placed in sealed garbage bags and laundered on a high-temperature setting. Hygiene has no connection to the spread of bedbugs. Their high fertility rate is to blame for their rapid spread.
A report by France’s national food, environment, and work hygiene organization, Anses, revealed two leading causes of the recent bedbug proliferation in France – an increase in tourism and greater resistance to insecticides.
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