A prestigious French cinema is to temporarily close over a bedbug infestation, in order to guarantee viewers "a perfectly safe and comfortable environment."
The Cinémathèque Française, an internationally renowned film archive and cinema, said in a statement it would be closing its four screening halls for a month after a series of reported bedbug sightings.
Audience members complained in November after being bitten during a master class with Sigourney Weaver, the Oscar-nominated star from films such as Alien and Ghostbusters.
One visitor told French newspaper Le Parisien that bedbugs had been seen crawling around "the seats and clothes.”
While bedbugs get their name from their habit of nesting in mattresses, they are also known to hide in clothes and luggage, and can cause intense itching or allergic reactions, as well as blisters or rashes.
The institution said: “All the seats will be dismantled and then individually treated with dry steam at 180°C several times, before being systematically checked by dogs.”
They also confirmed that the carpets would receive the same level of treatment.
The cinema, located in east Paris, contains three screening halls which are open to the public, while a fourth is used for educational activities.
The rest of the building will remain open during the screening halls closure, including a current exhibition about US actor and filmmaker Orson Welles.
There was a concerted effort to fight bedbugs in France in 2023, when a large number of the pests appeared on public transport and in hospitals as the country prepared to host the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
