[imagesource:flickr]

One of the most idealised cities in the world is being overrun by blood-sucking insects.

I know a lot of people come home after travelling to Paris with a little depressive episode called Paris syndrome because of the sheer disappointment that the French city is nowhere near as romantic and lovely as it appears in the media.

But now, instead of just battling rude locals, stinky sewage streets, and overpriced bread, one might leave the city of love with bedbugs, too.

The surfacing of several videos of bedbugs spotted in public transport and other locations such as cinemas has caused alarm around the “widespread” rise in bedbugs. The French government has vowed action to stop this plague, with French Transport Minister Clement Beaune saying that he would “bring together transport operators [this] week” to “undertake further action” to “reassure and protect” the public. This announcement came as calls for government action from Paris officials and trade unions mounted, per CNN.

Speaking to French TV station LCI on Friday, deputy mayor of Paris Emmanuel Gregoire called the phenomenon “widespread.”

“You have to understand that in reality no one is safe, obviously there are risk factors but in reality, you can catch bedbugs anywhere and bring them home,” he said.

A TikTok video shows the critters crawling about the city:

@dailymail Bed bugs seen crawling over seats on Paris trains and buses as France battles ‘invasion’ of the insects. #fyp #france #bedbugs #paris #insects #gross ♬ original sound – Daily Mail

The insect numbers were already spirally three years ago, forcing the French government to launch an anti-bedbug campaign. But still  “there are 3.6 million people who come into Paris every day, and bedbugs do not stop on the outskirts of the city”.

The French national health and sanitary body, Anses, found that between 2017 and 2022, 11% of French homes had been infested, per The Guardian.

Johanna Fite from the Anses Department of Risk Assessment said that it’s “mainly due to the movement of people, populations travelling, the fact that people stay in short-term accommodation and bring back bedbugs in their suitcases or luggage”.

She mentioned that there has been an “escalation” in numbers recently because bedbugs are increasingly resistant to insecticides.

This is bad timing as Paris is ramping up to host the 2024 Olympic Games. Naturally, officials are keeping tight-lipped and stoic, saying that there is nothing to worry about.

Mmmmhmmm. *promptly searches for a hazmat suit before travelling anywhere.*

[source:cnn]