The French government is battling to contain a bout of nationwide panic over bedbugs in Paris just nine months before the capital hosts next summer's Olympic Games. - REUTERS
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00:00 This is what's been really bugging Parisians.
00:04 Posts on social media, chatter on the street and on talk shows
00:08 are all contributing to a panic over bed bugs in Paris.
00:12 It's created such an itch that government officials held an emergency meeting
00:16 on how best to tackle the hysteria. And it comes just nine months
00:20 before the city is set to host the Olympics.
00:24 But is the issue really that bad? Should residents and visitors be concerned?
00:28 Female bed bugs can deposit
00:32 one to five eggs a day and may lay 200 to
00:36 500 eggs in their lifetime. Experts say they can survive
00:40 for months while waiting for their next meal. Potent insecticides
00:44 that used to keep them away have been banned due to health hazards
00:48 according to one entomologist. While the bugs have developed
00:52 resistance to milder chemicals. A rebound
00:56 in travel after the pandemic may have contributed to a recent spread.
01:00 But the issue isn't a new one for France. And experts
01:04 say there hasn't been a real explosion in cases.
01:08 Here's pest control consultant Nicolas Rue de Begeau.
01:12 We saw a rise in France of bed bugs but it's an old phenomenon. It started more than
01:16 ten years ago. What we've seen is that the population
01:20 of bed bugs double once every five years.
01:24 So it's rising quite slowly but
01:28 at a regular rate so it's quite concerning of course. And right now
01:32 we also have a media bubble about that subject
01:36 and people are very scared about it.
01:40 This pest control worker says he's seen a big jump
01:44 in customers coming into his storefront looking for bed bug prevention.
01:48 But pest control is expensive and
01:52 is often out of reach for low income families.
01:56 Sniffer dogs are being brought in to inspect trains and public transportation.
02:00 There are calls for action from the government. Even French Prime Minister
02:04 Elisabeth Borne recently expressed concern.
02:08 An infestation in a home can become hell for those who live there
02:12 and the solutions to get rid of them can be expensive.
02:16 On this matter there should be no division. There should be collective determination
02:20 and an active act.
02:24 Bed bugs have led to national anxiety over whether the tiny critters might ruin
02:28 the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
02:32 After the Olympics it might be a nice souvenir for the Parisian people
02:36 to have way more bed bugs after the Olympic Games of course.
02:40 And, Bejaud says, tourists might spread the infestation even further.