Tina Magnergård Bjers/TT
They are found in the Paris metro, in cinemas, airports and hospitals. Blood-sucking bed bugs are becoming more common in France.
Now the country’s transport minister is acting.
The fact that the apple core-sized insects are increasingly being captured in pictures and spread on social media is attracting attention mixed with horror and has prompted Transport Minister Clement Beaune to step into the arena: Next week he will gather representatives of various travel companies to “inform about measures and how to do more to protect travelers,” reports the AFP news agency.
The purpose is to calm and protect, writes Baune on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
Asked for help
Every tenth household in France is estimated to have had a problem with bedbugs in recent years, something that often requires costly control efforts.
The cinema chain UGC is also hard hit, earlier in September the management was forced to apologize after cinema goers published pictures of what looked like bed bug bites.
This week, representatives of Paris City Hall asked President Emmanuel Macron’s government for help with pest control. They also urged the government to create a task force against bed bugs. In the past, the country’s public health authority has advised people to be careful when staying in hotels and buying second-hand furniture.
Traveler behind increase
A few decades ago, the bed bug was basically eradicated in Northern and Western Europe, but in recent years it has increased again, according to the Public Health Authority, among others. This is due to the increased travel, bed bugs are often an unwelcome guest in suitcases.
Some bed bugs have also developed resistance to pesticides.
Bed bugs, suck blood from humans and often emerge at night. During the day, it usually hides in mattresses, furniture and wall cracks, hence the name. A bite from a bed bug is comparable to a mosquito bite, but can cause stronger reactions for some.