France is witnessing a widespread spread of harmful bed bugs, especially in the capital, Paris, which is preparing to host the Olympic Games in less than a year. While this health situation raises concerns among France's southern neighbors, who announced precautionary measures to prevent the spread of infection to their lands.
In recent days, France has witnessed a widespread spread of bed bugs, which has raised serious health concerns due to the damage that this parasitic insect that feeds on human blood can cause. These fears are increasing with the approach of the 2024 Olympics, which will be hosted by the capital, Paris, in less than a year.
The French government is facing criticism over "bed bugs", as the issue has reached the top of the country's parliament, and the opposition has accused the prime minister of inaction in confronting this scourge. The governments of Morocco and Algeria also announced the activation of precautionary measures on their borders for fear of this insect spreading to their territories.
Spread of bed bugs
Since the 1960s, bedbugs have become regular residents of France. However, it has witnessed an accelerated spread in recent years, and according to a report by the French Health Safety Agency, between 2017 and 2022, at least one home out of ten in France is witnessing an infestation of “bed bugs.”
Until recent days, the outbreak of this parasitic insect has become a general scourge, and has moved from private places to public spaces, such as metro stations, schools, and tourist institutions. Bed bugs were found in a hall in Paris, and a number of schools were closed due to their discovery there.
The Deputy Mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregory, sent a letter to Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne, urging the government to intervene to combat this scourge in which the capital is drowning. “The state must urgently bring together all relevant stakeholders in order to publish an action plan commensurate with this scourge,” Gregory said.
The Deputy Mayor of Paris noted in his letter that combating this scourge “costs an average of 866 euros per person,” and called on the government to provide “financial support to individuals” and implement “an intervention plan for public health interests.”
This spread is not limited to Paris alone, but also to other cities such as Marseille and Lyon in the south. In Marseille, one in five families suffers from a bedbug infestation, and the spread of the insect has been observed in metro stations and train cars. The municipality of Nice also launched a massive disinfection campaign in public places, primarily targeting means of transportation.
In the same context, Bourne and her government received widespread criticism in Parliament, as the opposition accused her of failing to combat the spread of the harmful insect. Representative Mathilde Bano said, in her speech in Parliament on Tuesday: “We alerted you (in past years) to the pest, but you mocked us Today, what is the government waiting for to take action, until bedbugs invade the Prime Minister’s residence?”
International ridicule and Maghreb precautions
This health situation in France has raised widespread concerns regarding the country hosting the Summer Olympics in less than a year. It also sparked a wave of international ridicule, expressed by the international press that covered this issue.
The Canadian magazine "Vice" asked its readers, " Are you ready to be exterminated by bedbugs?", and accompanied the report with a sarcastic picture showing a huge insect appearing near the Eiffel Tower. For its part, the Spanish newspaper "El Pais" wrote that "bedbugs have become the star of the French entry." The German newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung" described the bedbug scourge in France as "taking the form of a biblical curse. "
On the other hand, the health authorities in Morocco have taken strict measures to confront any possibility of bed bugs leaking into the country. The Moroccan Ministry of Health said, in a statement , that it has tightened cross-border health monitoring and is tracking the health and environmental situation in the areas affected by the spread of bed bugs, and is making available to citizens a set of recommendations and advice for international travel. The event-based monitoring system has also prepared for early detection of any Unusual health accident.
This step comes in response to a warning issued by the captain of a ship that came from the French city of Marseille to the port of Tangier, on October 2, after suspected presence of bedbugs in the ship’s cockpit. The authorities at the port of Tangier immediately activated a strict protocol to comprehensively sterilize the ship.
In the same context, Algerian Health Minister Abdelhak Sayhi reassured the fears of his country's citizens about the spread of the parasitic insect. Saihi said: “Algerian families are clean, we guard the borders and we are not afraid of these problems,” noting that the Ministry of Transport has taken preventive measures in this regard.
Putin reveals the results of the investigation into the plane crash of Commander Wagner
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the plane crash that killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the captain of the Wagner company, last August was due to the explosion of hand grenades inside the plane, not the result of a missile attack.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that "pieces of a hand grenade" were found in the bodies of victims of the plane crash of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in August, denying that the plane had been exposed to "external influence."
In a speech he delivered before the Valdai International Forum in the Russian city of Sochi, Putin said: “Fragments of hand grenades were found in the remains of those killed in the incident.”
He added: "There was no outside influence on the plane, and this is a fact proven by an investigation conducted by the Russian Investigative Committee."
He noted that drugs were found in Prigozhin's home and Wagner's offices, saying that "no specialized examination was conducted for alcohol or drugs in the deceased's blood."
He stressed that there is no consensus on the need for Wagner-like groups in Russia, but pointed out that several thousand Wagner fighters have signed contracts with the Russian armed forces.
The leader of the Wagner Group, along with a number of his aides, died on August 23 in the crash of his private plane that was transporting him from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
Putin deemed Prigozhin a traitor for orchestrating a mutiny on June 23.
Ukraine and its Western allies suspect a retaliation operation led by the Kremlin, a hypothesis rejected by Moscow.
Russian investigators did not specify whether they favored the hypothesis of an assassination, a technical problem, or human error. The only investigation opened so far targets incidents related to violations of air safety rules.
After the failure of the Wagner rebellion, Putin announced that Prigozhin's fighters had to choose between joining the regular army, exiling themselves to Belarus, or returning to civilian life.
Putin confirmed that “thousands of Wagner fighters” had signed commitment contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
France is grappling with a significant bed bug outbreak, particularly in Paris, which is preparing for the 2024 Olympics. This situation has led to public and political outcry, with other countries like Morocco and Algeria taking preventive measures to avoid infestation.
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