Events in the Middle East have somewhat pushed them out of the news. But bed bugs remain a 'scourge' and MEPs from different sides are determined to devote resources to them. Two amendments to this effect have been tabled in the 2024 finance bill, currently being debated in the National Assembly, as our colleagues at Politico have noted. One deposited by Nupes, the other by Renaissance. And not surprisingly, the funds allocated to the fight against bed bugs are not the same in the two camps.
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The left-wing amendment, which was finally withdrawn shortly before it was debated on Friday, provided for the creation of "a national plan to combat bed bugs", with a credit of 230 million euros. The amount was not chosen at random, it comes from a study by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) from July 2023. The amendment does not elaborate further on the measures that could be included in this plan. When contacted, LFI MP William Martinet, author of the amendment, regretted its withdrawal "for a purely technical reason". "The budget line on which the amendment was pledged had been reduced to zero before we could defend it," he told Le Figaro.
Read alsoSamuel Fitoussi: "The Hundred Days of the War on Bed Bugs"
"Public Pest Control Service"
The presidential majority, for its part, proposes to create an "emergency fund" with an additional 5 million euros. This amount is 46 times lower than that provided for by Nupes, due to budgetary austerity. In this case, the aid would be granted on a means-tested basis to households whose homes have been infested with bed bugs. "Supporting those affected is an issue of health and solidarity," said the author of the amendment, who is none other than Sylvain Maillard, leader of the Macronist deputies in the Palais-Bourbon.
In accordance with the framework set by Bercy to the Renaissance deputies during the examination of the finance bill, this new expenditure is offset by a reduction of the same order in the budget allocated to "social inclusion and (the) protection of persons", and more specifically to the item "Activity bonus and other measuresof the programme». In the absence of an absolute majority in the National Assembly, it is likely that the adoption of the text will require recourse to Article 49.3 of the Constitution; In that case, it would be up to the government to decide which amendments to keep or reject. When asked about the fate of this amendment, the office of the Minister of Public Accounts did not respond.
The parliamentary groups, particularly from the left and centre, had already clashed at the beginning of October in the hemicycle. During a question-and-answer session with the government, the president of the LFI group, Mathilde Panot, brandished a vial containing bed bugs, while demanding the establishment of a "public service for disinsectisation". The Renaissance group and its allies, for their part, had made this "scourge" a "priority".