France is grappling with a growing bedbug infestation that has sparked a political row, with Paris city hall calling for urgent action before next year's Olympic Games. Transport Minister Clément Beaune has announced he will convene public transport operators to discuss countermeasures after travellers posted videos and photos supposedly showing the insects on trains, the Métro, and at Charles de Gaulle airport.
The deputy mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, described the situation as a 'scourge' and said no one is safe, noting that low-income households are particularly vulnerable due to the high cost of private fumigation. Paris city hall has written to Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne requesting a dedicated national taskforce to tackle the problem.
Bedbugs, which had largely disappeared by the 1950s, have made a resurgence in recent decades and become resistant to chemical treatments. The French health agency Anses found that 11% of French homes were infested between 2017 and 2022. The insects feed on human blood at night and can cause psychological distress, insomnia, anxiety, and depression.
Mathilde Panot, head of the leftwing La France Insoumise party, criticised the government for failing to act, saying she had been laughed at when she called for a national plan in 2019. She urged the government to recognise bedbugs as a public health issue, fix treatment prices, and ban ineffective chemical products.
Transport authorities have said no bedbug cases have been confirmed on public transport, but a train on Métro line 8 was removed from service as a precaution after a driver reported seeing them. Operators insist carriages are regularly treated to prevent infestation.
