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ENVIRONMENT

Factcheck: Did the Paris deputy mayor really say ‘no-one is safe’ from bedbugs?

It's the quote that has dominated UK and US news reporting of France's bedbug problem - but did the Paris deputy mayor truly say that 'no-one is safe'?

Factcheck: Did the Paris deputy mayor really say 'no-one is safe' from bedbugs?
First Deputy Mayor of Paris Emmanuel Gregoire in September 2022 (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

Reports of a rising number of bedbug infestations have been heavily reported in French media – egged on by politicians – and have now crossed both the Channel and the Atlantic to be reported in English-language media.

You can see our in-detail look at how bad the problem truly is – and whether it is in fact any worse than in other countries – here.

But undoubtedly one of the reasons that the story got so much coverage is the headline-worthy quote from the deputy mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, who apparently said ‘no-one is safe’.

The dramatic assessment – worthy of a disaster movie – certainly sounds good, but is it actually what he said?

Grégoire undoubtedly believes that bedbugs are a problem in his city, and has written to French prime minister Elisabeth Borne to demand an urgent, national action plan.

He writes: “The State must urgently bring together all the stakeholders concerned in order to deploy an action plan commensurate with this scourge while France is preparing to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024.”

The ‘no-one is safe’ quote comes from an interview that Grégoire did with French TV channel LCI and his exact words were: “Personne n’est à l’abri“.

This is perhaps best translated as ‘no-one is immune’, or ‘no-one is unaffected’ or more literally ‘no-one is sheltered’ –  the most common use of the word abri is used to describe a shelter such as an air-raid shelter or ‘sans-abri‘ to describe someone as homeless (or ‘without shelter’).

It’s not a million miles away from ‘no-one is safe’ – but it doesn’t carry the same connotation of bedbugs posing a risk to health. Bedbugs can cause itchy bites or blisters. They are undoubtedly extremely annoying and it can be hard to sleep if you have an infestation in your home, but they do not spread diseases or cause other health problems.

It’s also important to look at the context of Grégoire’s words – he’s answering a question about whether bedbugs are confined to a certain area or are a more general problem.

He says that they’re everywhere and ‘no-one is immune’ – which is why he is calling on the government to take a nationwide approach to the problem, which he says cannot be tackled by local authorities alone since bedbugs are often spread between areas by travellers, tourists or even commuters. 

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POLITICS

New Caledonia airport to reopen Monday, curfew reduced: authorities

New Caledonia's main international airport will reopen from Monday after being shut last month during a spate of deadly unrest, the high commission in the French Pacific territory said, adding a curfew would also be reduced.

New Caledonia airport to reopen Monday, curfew reduced: authorities

The commission said Sunday that it had “decided to reopen the airport during the day” and to “push back to 8:00 pm (from 6:00 pm) the start of the curfew as of Monday”.

The measures had been introduced after violence broke out on May 13 over a controversial voting reform that would have allowed long-term residents to participate in local polls.

The archipelago’s Indigenous Kanaks feared the move would dilute their vote, putting hopes for eventually winning independence definitively out of reach.

READ ALSO: Explained: What’s behind the violence on French island of New Caledonia?

Barricades, skirmishes with the police and looting left nine dead and hundreds injured, and inflicted hundreds of millions of euros in damage.

The full resumption of flights at Tontouta airport was made possible by the reopening of an expressway linking it to the capital Noumea that had been blocked by demonstrators, the commission said.

Previously the airport was only handling a small number of flights with special exemptions.

Meanwhile, the curfew, which runs until 6:00 am, was reduced “in light of the improvement in the situation and in order to facilitate the gradual return to normal life”, the commission added.

French President Emmanuel Macron had announced on Wednesday that the voting reform that touched off the unrest would be “suspended” in light of snap parliamentary polls.

Instead he aimed to “give full voice to local dialogue and the restoration of order”, he told reporters.

Although approved by both France’s National Assembly and Senate, the reform had been waiting on a constitutional congress of both houses to become part of the basic law.

Caledonian pro-independence movements had already considered reform dead given Macron’s call for snap elections.

“This should be a time for rebuilding peace and social ties,” the Kanak Liberation Party (Palika) said Wednesday before the announcement.

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