Paris Battles Bedbug Invasion Ahead of 2024 Olympics

Paris is grappling with a bedbug invasion just 10 months before the 2024 Summer Olympics. Initially reported in hotels and vacation rentals during the summer, these tiny pests have now infested movie theaters, high-speed trains, and the Paris Metro.

Passengers have shared videos of bedbugs on social media, causing widespread panic. Some travelers even switched to Moroccan ferries to escape the problem. Port authorities in Tangiers found bedbugs on a passenger ferry from Marseille, prompting increased monitoring protocols.

Paris-based pest control companies are overwhelmed, with residents paying an average of $500 to treat their homes. Concerns are rising over the risk to Olympic visitors, leading Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire to urge the government to address the issue as a public health concern. Transport Minister Clément Beaune plans to meet with public transport operators to reassure and protect travelers.

Bedbugs are visible to the naked eye and can spread easily, hiding in mattresses, curtains, floorboards, and electrical sockets. They emerge at night to feed on human blood. Tourists can unknowingly transport them in suitcases from infected hotels and deposit them in public seating.

Exterminators advise quick action, sealing infected items in garbage bags and washing them at a high temperature. Bedbug proliferation in France is attributed to increased tourism and insecticide resistance, according to a report by Anses, France’s national food, environment, and work hygiene organization.