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full screen A pest technician sprays an apartment in Paris in October. Archive image. Photo: Christophe Ena/AP/TT
Russian disinformation on social media fueled panic over the feared bedbug wave in France last fall, according to European Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
The French minister’s comments come as warnings of Russian disinformation in the country mount. According to the French warnings, Russia’s main aim is to undermine support for Ukraine.
– The issue of bed bugs was reinforced on social networks by accounts that have been established by Russian inspiration or Russian origin, he told the TV channel TF1, adding:
– It was largely amplified by accounts linked to the Kremlin.
Media have reported that French intelligence has concluded that there is a link between Russia and the bedbug panic, but this is the first time a minister has confirmed this publicly.
According to the minister, disinformation has also gone as far as connecting the presence of bed bugs with the arrival of Ukrainian refugees.
In October, France closed schools and the government sat in crisis meetings over a feared lice epidemic. The bloodsuckers were said to have been seen in the Paris subway, on high-speed trains and Charles De Gaulle airport.
Barrot pointed to a number of other similar campaigns, including anti-Semitic graffiti in Paris and a fake news story that President Macron had canceled a trip to Ukraine for security reasons.