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POLITICS

France hits back at hysteria over bedbug ‘invasion’

The French government on Wednesday sought to calm growing public fears over a supposed bedbug invasion, saying there was no evidence of any resurgence of the biting irritants on public transport.

France hits back at hysteria over bedbug 'invasion'
A product used to eradicate bedbugs at the Hygiene Premium, pest control shop in Paris. (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP)

Aghast citizens have reported seeing the creatures in recent weeks on trains, the Paris metro as well as in cinemas and in schools.

The sightings have sent a shudder through the country, with France in the midst of hosting the Rugby World Cup and preparing to welcome millions from around the world for the Paris Olympics next year.

As well as dominating front pages, the reported surge in the vampiric pests has even become the butt of jokes on late night US television talk shows.

READ MORE: How to handle a bedbug infestation in your French home

But officials insist there is no scientific evidence to suggest any explosion in bedbugs, and that images posted on social media do not necessarily mean growing numbers.

“There is no resurgence of bedbugs” in transport, Transport Minister Clement Beaune told reporters Wednesday after hosting an emergency meeting of major operators.

“There is no increase in cases, no psychosis, no need for anxiety,” he added.

“It is taken seriously and each reported case receives a response and checks,” Beaune said, insisting that none of the cases reported in recent weeks on the Paris metro or on intercity trains had been proven.

“I asked all operators to publish data on reported cases and proven cases,” he added, “it is important to be transparent”.

‘Comprehensive approach’

Around 10 cases were reported to the RATP, which runs the Paris metro, in recent weeks, Beaune said, adding that “all have been checked… there were zero proven cases”.

Thirty-seven sightings had been reported to SNCF, the national train operator, with Beaune adding that “all have been checked, zero proven”.

But in a sign of how seriously President Emmanuel Macron’s government views the issue with the Olympics looming, an interministerial meeting will take place on Friday hosted by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, government spokesman Olivier Veran said.

Bedbugs “affect health, the economy, transport, tourism” and “therefore require a comprehensive approach,” Veran told reporters.

Two schools — one in Marseille and the other in Villefranche-sur-Saone outside Lyon in southeastern France — have become infected with bedbugs and have been closed down for several days to be cleaned out, local authorities said.

Meanwhile, the head of Macron’s Renaissance party in the French National Assembly, Sylvain Maillard, said Tuesday a cross party bill would be put forward “at the beginning of December” to combat the “scourge” of bedbugs.

Bedbugs, which had largely disappeared from daily life by the 1950s, have appeared in greater numbers in recent decades, mostly due to high population densities, people taking more holidays and mass transit.

One in 10 French households are believed to have had a bedbug problem over the past few years, usually requiring a pest control operation costing several hundreds of euros that often needs to be repeated.

Bedbugs get their name from their habit of nesting in mattresses, although they can also hide in clothes and in luggage. They come out at night to feed on human blood.

Bedbug bites leave blisters or large rashes on the skin, and can cause intense itching or allergic reactions.

They also often cause psychological distress, sleeping issues, anxiety and depression.

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POLITICS

Macron warns of ‘civil war’ if far right or hard left win election

President Emmanuel Macron warned that the policies of his far-right and hard-left opponents could lead to ‘civil war’, as France prepared for its most divisive election in decades.

Macron warns of ‘civil war’ if far right or hard left win election

French politics were plunged into turmoil when Macron called snap legislative elections after his centrist party was trounced by the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) in a European vote earlier this month.

Weekend polls suggested the RN would win 35-36 percent in the first round on Sunday, ahead of a left-wing alliance on 27-29.5 percent and Macron’s centrists in third on 19.5-22 percent.

A second round of voting will follow on July 7th in constituencies where no candidate takes more than 50 percent in the first round.

Speaking on the podcast Generation Do It Yourself, Macron, 46, denounced both the RN as well as the hard-left France Unbowed party.

He said the far-right “divides and pushes towards civil war”, while the hard-left La France Insoumise, which is part of the Nouveau Front Populaire alliance, proposes “a form of communitarianism”, adding that “civil war follows on from that, too”.

Reacting to Macron’s comments, far-right leader Jordan Bardella told French news outlet M6: “A President of the Republic should not say that. I want to re-establish security for all French people.”

Bardella, the RN’s 28-year-old president, earlier Monday said his party was ready to govern as he pledged to curb immigration and tackle cost-of-living issues.

“In three words: we are ready,” Bardella told a news conference as he unveiled the RN’s programme.

READ ALSO What would a far-right prime minister mean for foreigners in France?

Bardella has urged voters to give the eurosceptic party an outright majority to allow it to implement its anti-immigration, law-and-order programme.

“Seven long years of Macronism has weakened the country,” he said, vowing to boost purchasing power, “restore order” and change the law to make it easier to deport foreigners convicted of crimes.

He reiterated plans to tighten borders and make it harder for children born in France to foreign parents to gain citizenship.

Bardella added that the RN would focus on “realistic” measures to curb inflation, primarily by cutting energy taxes.

He also promised a disciplinary ‘big bang’ in schools, including a ban on mobile phones and trialling the introduction of school uniforms, a proposal previously put forward by Macron.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal of Macron’s Renaissance party poured scorn on the RN’s economic programme, telling Europe 1 radio the country was “headed straight for disaster” in the event of an RN victory.

On Tuesday, Attal will go head-to-head with Bardella and the leftist Manuel Bompard in a TV debate.

On foreign policy, Bardella said the RN opposed sending French troops and long-range missiles to Ukraine – as mooted by Macron – but would continue to provide logistical and material support.

He added that his party, which had close ties to Russia before its invasion of Ukraine, would be “extremely vigilant” in the face of Moscow’s attempts to interfere in French affairs.

Macron insisted that France would continue to support Ukraine over the long term as he met with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

“We will continue to mobilise to respond to Ukraine’s immediate needs,” he said alongside Stoltenberg at the Elysee Palace.

The election is shaping up as a showdown between the RN and the leftist Nouveau Front Populaire, which is dominated by the hard-left La France Insoumise.

Bardella claimed the RN, which mainstream parties have in the past united to block, was now the “patriotic and republican” choice faced with what he alleged was the anti-Semitism of Mélenchon’s party.

La France Insoumise, which opposes Israel’s war in Gaza and refused to label the October 7th Hamas attacks as ‘terrorism’, denies the charges of anti-Semitism.

In calling an election in just three weeks Macron hoped to trip up his opponents and catch them unprepared.

But analysts have warned the move could backfire if the deeply unpopular president is forced to share power with a prime minister from an opposing party.

RN powerhouse Marine Le Pen, who is bidding to succeed Macron as president, has called on him to step aside if he loses control of parliament.

Macron has insisted he will not resign before the end of his second term in 2027 but has vowed to heed voters’ concerns.

Speaking on Monday, Macron once again defended his choice to call snap elections.

“It’s very hard. I’m aware of it, and a lot of people are angry with me,” he said on the podcast. “But I did it because there is nothing greater and fairer in a democracy than trust in the people.”

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