France will dispatch sniffer dogs to inspect trains and the Paris Métro for bedbugs after dozens of reports of infestations, the transport minister has promised, but he made clear there was no evidence of an outbreak.
Clément Beaune said there had been about 10 traveller reports about the bloodsucking pests to the Paris public transport operator, RATP, and 37 to the national rail operator, SNCF, in recent weeks. All were checked but “zero” were proved, the minister said.
“When there is a problem, we deal with it, we won’t deny it. There is no outbreak of bedbugs in public transport,” Beaune said in comments made following an emergency meeting of major operators. “There is no resurgence of bedbugs,” he added.
A wave of disgust has spread across France as people have posted photos purportedly showing the insects on the Paris Métro, high-speed trains and at Charles de Gaulle airport. There have also been reports of the bugs attacking from cinema seats and even multiplying in schools.
Fumigation companies have reported an increasing demand, and some rail travellers have insisted on standing up rather than risk a bite by sitting on seats.
There have been calls for the bedbug crisis – real or imagined – to be tackled before next year’s Olympic Games. Beaune had summoned train and bus operators “to inform them about countermeasures and how to do more for the protection of travellers”.
After the meeting on Wednesday, Beaune said all public transport operators will boost health procedures in general, adding that canine sniffer teams were the most effective means of detection.
He added that every three months, data will be published about all bedbug reports and any confirmed infestations.
“Total transparency will bring total confidence,” he said, adding that there was “no need for psychosis or fear”.
Bedbugs, which largely disappeared from daily life by the 1950s, have made a resurgence in recent decades as countries urbanise and international travel booms.
The pests, which can grow to 5mm long and 3mm wide, have also become increasingly resistant to chemical treatments.
Callout
They can be present in mattresses, clothes and luggage, and come out at night to feed on human blood, often leading to psychological distress, sleeping issues, anxiety and depression.
The newspaper Le Parisien recently ran a front-page article on the panic over bedbugs, calling the problem a form of “domestic terror”.
Britain has also been experiencing bedbug problems, with pest control company Rentokil estimating there has been a 65% year-on-year rise in infestations in the UK.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
