ParisCNN –
The French government has announced measures to “reassure and protect” the public as the capital Paris reports a “widespread” increase in bed bugs.
French Transport Minister Clement Beaune said on Friday he would “bring together transport companies next week” to “take further measures” to “reassure and protect” the public from the reported increase in numbers of the blood-sucking insect.
The announcement comes as calls from Paris officials and unions for government action are growing after several videos emerged on social media of bed bugs discovered on public transport and other places such as cinemas.
Speaking to French television channel LCI on Friday, Paris deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire described the phenomenon as “widespread”.
“You have to understand that in reality no one is safe, of course there are risk factors, but in reality you can catch bed bugs anywhere and bring them home,” he said.
Three years ago, the French government launched an anti-bed bug campaign that included a dedicated website and an information hotline as the insects’ numbers increased.
But Gregoire said that despite this plan, “3.6 million people come to Paris every day and bed bugs don’t stop at the outskirts of the city.”
An expert at France’s health and sanitation agency Anses said the problem was “an emerging phenomenon in France and almost everywhere in the world.”
“This is mainly due to the movement of people, the traveling population, the fact that people are staying in short-term accommodation and bringing bed bugs with them in their suitcases or luggage,” Johanna Fite of Anses’ risk assessment department told CNN.
She added that the numbers were “escalating” because bed bugs were becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides.
“We are seeing more and more bed bug populations that are resistant, so there is no magic bullet to get rid of them,” Fite said.
However, the deputy mayor of Paris warned against “hysteria” on the matter, pointing out that there had been “an increase in the number of Parisians turning to the City Hall information services for information about bed bugs.”
“Professional companies that intervene in residential areas tell us that the proportion of operations against bed bugs is currently atypical compared to normal and is increasing rapidly,” he said.
The news comes as Paris prepares to host the 2024 Olympics, but officials say they are not worried.
“There is no threat to the Olympics,” Gregoire said.
“Bed bugs have existed before and will continue to exist after,” he added, saying the games were an “opportunity” for everyone to work together on the issue.