Paris battles invasion of bedbugs just months ahead of 2024 Olympics

France has been overwhelmed in recent weeks following the outbreak of bedbugs that have not only wreaked havoc in Paris and Marseille but also are spotted almost everywhere in the cities creating panic among locals, CBS News reported.

Notably, the French capital has been invaded by the bedbugs just 10 months before the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympics which will be hosted by the European nation this year.

During the summer, reports of the minuscule bugs in hotels and vacation rentals spread around the city. Later, the bedbugs were also spotted in cinema theatres, and just recently, reports of bedbugs crawling on seats in both national high-speed trains and the Paris Metro system have also surfaced, according to CBS News.

Companies in Paris who specialise in treating bug infestations claim they have been overrun recently.

The possible risk to visitors to the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games particularly concerns Paris City Hall. "Bedbugs are a public health issue and should be declared as such," Deputy Mayor of Paris Emmanuel Gregoire wrote to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. He called on the government to put together an action plan to address the problem at a national level, according to CBS News.

Even though bedbugs are small, they may be seen with the unaided eye. They can spread easily and love to hide in mattresses and other soft furnishings like curtains, but also between floorboards, in electrical sockets and even behind wallpaper. They come out at night to feed on human blood.

Tourists may unknowingly pick up the bothersome passengers in their baggage from an infected hotel in a crowded city like Paris, transport them by metro or other public transportation, and then drop them off in their seats. Bedbugs have a high fertility rate, which means that once they locate a place to feed and reproduce, they spread quickly regardless of hygiene, CBS News reported citing the experts.

A meeting this week with a number of public transport companies has already been scheduled by French Transport Minister Clement Beaune with the goal of "reassuring and protecting" passengers amid the insect outbreak.