Paris town hall asks the State for a plan to combat bedbugs

The Paris town hall called on the government on Thursday September 28 to ask for a plan to combat bedbugs, having noted a “significant resurgence” of this parasitic species. “The State must urgently bring together all the stakeholders concerned in order to deploy an action plan commensurate with this scourge as the whole of France prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024”writes Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy of the socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo, in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne.

“Bed bugs are a public health problem and should be reported as such.”

Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy at Paris town hall

in his letter to Elisabeth Borne

Anne Hidalgo’s first deputy calls for the implementation of a “mandatory reporting mechanism” and support “individuals through financial support”. Emmanuel Grégoire also wishes that “the psychological risk after such an infestation is taken care of”.

Bedbugs, which have reappeared since the 1990s, have infested more than one in ten homes in France in recent years, regardless of income level. These small insects the size of an apple seed, which feed at night, mainly on human blood, most often hide in mattresses and box springs and are transported in clothing and luggage.