Worse than that couldn't have been: just as it prepares to host next year's Olympics, with the thousands of athletes and crowds of spectators who come to witness them, Paris has recently succumbed to a much less welcome guest: bedbugs. We used ChatGPT to get the details.
The tiny insects are becoming a real mecca in the City of Lights, as well as in other cities in France, when photos and videos of bedbugs in the city's public space go viral on social media. The bedbugs have already been photographed on buses and the metro, leading to passengers preferring to stand rather than risk sitting next to them. Bedbugs have also been observed in Airbnb apartments in the city.
A recent survey by French health agency ANSES revealed that about 1 in 10 French households experienced a bedbug infestation between 2017 and 2022. The survey also highlighted that bedbug infestations are on the rise, due to travel proliferation and insect resistance to pesticides.
Although bedbugs are not known to transmit diseases to humans through their bites, they do have a significant impact on the quality of life of those affected. The presence of insects can lead to sleep disturbances, mental problems and financial burdens due to the cost of treatment.
Paris Deputy Mayor Emmanuelle Gregoire recently wrote a letter to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne calling on her to take action against the bedbug problem. In his letter, Gregoire stressed the urgency of addressing this issue in light of the proximity to hosting next year's Olympic Games. French Transport Minister Clement Beaune also paid attention to the issue and announced plans to meet with transport operators to discuss possible solutions.
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