Why France has worked itself into a frenzy about bedbugs

In a matter of days, France has turned concern about a rise in cases of bedbugs into a matter of national hysteria. “They are everywhere: in mattresses, in cinemas, trains, metros and even hospitals,” declared Le Parisien, a popular daily newspaper, in a cover story. French evening-news talk shows have discussed little else. On October 3rd Mathilde Panot, a hard-left member of parliament, brought a vial of bugs into the National Assembly, describing an “explosive situation” in the country. Images of tiny creatures crawling across train seats have gone viral on social media. On October 6th the French government held a special meeting to discuss the bedbug crisis. Is the panic warranted?

The common bedbug, or Cimex lectularius, is highly mobile, travels on clothing and in luggage, thrives on human blood and leaves itchy swellings on the skin. After the second world war the development of synthetic insecticides almost wiped them out in Europe and America. But, as such insecticides have been banned, these arthropods have re-emerged at various moments, in cities from New York to London. They are particularly difficult to eradicate, and can defeat even professional pest-control specialists. It is not surprising, therefore, that the mere thought of an invasion of these vampiric bugs is enough to make everybody itch for a solution.

French hysteria is partly based on a real increase in cases. According to the Chambre Syndicale de Désinfection, Désinsectisation et Dératisation, an anti-pest trade body, the total number of call-outs to deal with bedbug infestations increased between 2020 and 2022, from 889,000 to 1.1m. And between June and August this year, call-outs rose by 65% compared with the same period last year. Possible explanations for the increase include a revival of foreign travel after pandemic lockdowns—hence the summer surge—and, more generally, climate change. (Warmer temperatures shorten the bugs’ reproductive cycle and so accelerate their spread.)

Yet the chronic public anxiety is out of all proportion to the threat. Bedbug infestations are highly unpleasant to deal with, not least psychologically. But the bugs do not spread disease to humans and skin welts do not remain itchy for long. The furore also reflects concern about the possible reputational damage to France among visitors: the country is currently hosting the rugby union World Cup, and next year the Olympic Games will take place in Paris.

Hence the government’s crisis meeting. Hence, too, the efforts of Clément Beaune, the transport minister, to take the issue seriously. Trains are being inspected; cleaning regimes tightened. On October 4th he announced that, of around 50 reported sightings of the critters on public-transport seats, not a single one turned out to be a bedbug. “No panic, no invasion of bedbugs!” Mr Beaune later posted on X (formerly Twitter). ■