France: Bed bugs cause excitement in politicians - concerns about parasite infestation

THE MIRROR France: Bed bugs cause excitement in politicians - concerns about parasite infestation Article by Anna-Sophie Schneider • 23 hours In the cinema, on the subway or on the train: Suspected bed bug sightings are increasingly being reported in France. The Minister of Health sees no reason to panic, but a crisis meeting is still planned. Complaints about bed bugs in France have been piling up on social networks for a few weeks now. The pests are spotted in cinemas, trains and the Paris metro. Now the parasite plague is becoming a political issue. This week the issue reached the French National Assembly. MPs discussed the situation on Tuesday. The leader of Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party, Sylvain Maillard, spoke of a "plague" and announced the preparation of a legislative proposal. "We have decided to make this issue a priority," he said. As the French newspaper "Le Monde" reports, the Socialists also want to submit a legislative proposal that would provide guarantees against the risks of bed bugs in homeowners' insurance contracts. The leader of the left-wing populist party La France Insoumise (LFI), Mathilde Panot, criticized the government: "We have lost six years," she said. Her party had already called for the issue to be treated as a public health problem. Ministerial meeting announced Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne accused Panot of “exaggeration,” but announced a meeting with all affected ministries in the next few days. These include the ministries for the ecological transition, housing and health. Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau called for calm. "I think there is no reason for general panic," the minister told the France Inter broadcaster. "We're not going to be inundated with bed bugs." At the same time, he admitted, "If you have bed bugs, it's hell." In France, people have recently been sharing more photos and videos that presumably show bedbugs. The operating company of the Paris Metro, RATP, wrote in a report: "No proven case of bed bugs has been found in our operating facilities (Metro, RER, tram and bus) in the last few days," the broadcaster France Info quotes. Paris seems to be particularly affected by the plague. Next summer the French capital will host the Olympic Games. Before the competitions begin, the invasion of bed bugs must be combated, it was said from the town hall last week.