Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the planet. But while regularly known as the City of Lights, the French capital in recent weeks has become known as the city of bedbugs. Away from the glamour of Paris’ ongoing Fashion Week, French officials have warned of a "widespread" outbreak of bedbugs across public spaces in the capital. With tourists expected to flock to the city next year for the 2024 Olympics, concerns about health and safety implications are rising.
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#FranceBedBugs #BedBugsOutbreak #FranceBedBugsOutbreak #BedBugOutbreakFrance #ParisBedBugOutbreak #BedBugsFrance
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the planet.
00:05 But while regularly known as the City of Lights, the French capital in recent weeks has become
00:10 known as the City of Bedbugs.
00:13 Away from the glamour of Paris' ongoing fashion week, French officials have warned
00:19 of a widespread outbreak of bedbugs across public spaces in the capital.
00:24 With tourists expected to flock to the city next year for the 2024 Olympics, concerns
00:30 about health and safety implications are rising.
00:35 What is happening in Paris?
00:37 In recent weeks, people in the French capital have reported bedbug infestations around the
00:43 city, from hotels to Airbnbs to the Paris Metro.
00:47 The creepy crawlers are freaking people out and have saddled Paris officials with the
00:52 major image problem just nine months before the summer Olympics begin in the capital on
00:57 July 26, 2024.
01:00 Transport Minister Clément Bonne has vowed to reassure and protect the public by convening
01:05 a meeting of public transport operators this week to establish countermeasures against
01:10 the blood-sucking pests which have been spotted in cinemas at Charles de Gaulle Airport and
01:16 on public transportation.
01:17 What are bedbugs and why are they so dangerous?
01:21 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bedbugs are officially known
01:26 as Cymex lectularis.
01:27 They are reddish-brown in color and have flat bodies, which are relatively small.
01:33 A bedbug can measure anywhere from just 1 mm to 7 mm.
01:39 Bedbugs feed on only two food sources - animal blood or human blood.
01:44 The CDC says bedbugs do not carry diseases that can be transferred to humans.
01:49 However, some people can get an allergic reaction to multiple bites, which needs medical attention.
01:56 Bites from bedbugs can also cause itching, which could disrupt sleep.
02:01 Why is there a bedbug outbreak in Paris?
02:04 Bedbugs have been a growing problem in France for a while now.
02:08 ANSES, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, says that
02:14 between 2017 and 2022, more than one in ten French households were infected with bedbugs.
02:21 The CDC also states that bedbugs have recently been spreading rapidly in parts of the US,
02:26 Canada, the UK and other parts of Europe.
02:29 What is the cause behind the increased spread?
02:32 The upsurge in bedbug infestations in recent years has been due in particular to the rise
02:38 in travel and the increasing resistance of bedbugs to insecticides.
02:43 France's problem is far from a new one.
02:46 Bedbugs were much more common in France before they effectively disappeared in the 1950s.
02:51 But a rise in global travel accessibility led to a surge in the 1990s.
02:56 Three years ago, the government launched its anti-bedbug efforts, comprising an informational
03:01 website and telephone hotline amid surging infestation.
03:05 By last year, the French government agency ANSES reported that 11% of French households
03:10 had experienced bedbugs at some point in the years between 2017 and 2022, adding that such
03:17 occurrences were not linked to wealth.
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