I'm in Paris | A few bedbugs trigger panic throughout France: a biological crisis or a public relations crisis?

Recently, there has been a strange phenomenon on the subway in Paris - even if there are many empty seats on the train, many Parisians choose to stand. I have hardly sat down on the subway in the past week

Recently, there has been a strange phenomenon on the subway in Paris - even if there are many empty seats on the train, many Parisians choose to stand. I have hardly sat down on the subway in the past week. The reason for this is not that there has been a sudden wave of fitness and health sweeping Paris, but rather a sensational rumor - Paris is in a bedbug crisis.

Since the end of September, there have been reports of customers being bitten by bedbugs starting from several cinemas in Paris. Many videos of bugs or suspected bugs captured by people on buses, subways, and trains have also appeared on social networks. Entering October, other parts of France have also reported the discovery of bedbugs, and a middle school in the southern city of Marseille has urgently suspended classes for disinfection. For a moment, France was in a state of anxiety and surrounded by soldiers.

On October 3, 2023 local time, in Paris, France, a picture of bedbugs in the pest control store "HygienePremium".

Bedbugs, a bloodsucking parasite with a body length generally below one centimeter, may have become distant and unfamiliar to many young people in China. You may only have known in the history textbook about "eliminating the four pests" that bedbugs were once one of the four pests. I have never seen a live bug before, only heard from my parents about their bloody and tearful history of fighting with bugs when they were young.

How could such a pest, which seemed out of place in modern society, suddenly cause panic in France as a developed country?

This matter is like a case study of communication science popping up from a textbook. Every step of the development of the event relies on examples from the public, but has France experienced a major outbreak of bedbugs? How many people are bitten by bedbugs every day? Are there really bugs everywhere on the subway? The government has only been responding effectively in recent days. But at this point, the panic had spread throughout France through the exceptionally developed mobile internet and media coverage, and even became global news.

A bedbug in Marseille, southern France. Visual China Map

Is the bug here?

This bug panic first appeared around me, at the end of September. In the last week of September, some Parisians began to speak online, stating that they had been bitten by bedbugs after visiting several cinemas in the city. As a result, cinemas in the city of Paris launched a campaign to clean up bedbugs.

At this stage of the matter, it is only local news in Paris. Everyone is just serving as a conversationalist after tea and dinner. After all, there are only a few cinemas that report bugs. People don't need to go to movies every day, and bedbugs are still far from the lives of ordinary people.

On October 4, 2023 local time, in Paris, France, pest control technician Lucas Pradalier searched for bedbugs in an apartment in Paris.

At that time, the television station went to interview him because several videos of people discovering bedbugs on the Paris subway and commuter trains appeared on the internet. The original intention was to hope that as a city government official, he could provide a clear response to everyone. But Greg made such astonishing remarks without any data support.

That's it. Originally, people thought it was just a hygiene issue in a few cinemas in the capital, but it turned into "no one is safe", causing panic among Parisians. On this day, for the first time in my social circle, there were comments urging everyone to be cautious about bedbugs.

On October 4, 2023 local time, Lucas Pradalier, a pest control technician, sprayed steam on pillows in an apartment in Paris, France.

The starting point of this matter is certainly good. To solve the problem of bedbug invasion, of course, a meeting needs to be held first to see if there is really a bedbug invasion. However, objectively speaking, during the period from September 29th to October 4th, the government lacked effective means to appease the people. Because bedbug bites were not originally mandatory data for the government to report, no one was able to come forward and guarantee that Paris had not been invaded by abnormal bedbugs.

The lack of official information provides space for the free fermentation of panic among the public. For a moment, it seemed like Paris was filled with bedbugs, and people instinctively felt that they were moving whenever they saw moving black dots. Any bite marks on the body are suspected to be a masterpiece of bedbugs.

My friends around me have also brought a lot of news about bedbugs - either their friends were bitten by bedbugs in the coffee shop of the Ministry of Culture, their children's school hired someone to kill them, or their boyfriend suddenly discovered a bedbug at home, causing everyone to be at risk for a while.

Wei Lang's answer made me couldn't help but laugh - "I'm also asking myself the question you raised." The implication is that the French government itself doesn't know if France is currently experiencing a bedbug invasion. Wei Lang stated that the joint meeting of multiple government departments chaired by the Prime Minister on October 6th was arranged to thoroughly clarify the situation.

We must give the French people an explanation. Is the number of bedbugs increasing compared to previous years, when did they start, and where they mainly affect.

In order to clarify these issues, various relevant departments of the French government are communicating with industry and local governments, summarizing the feedback information, and discussing it at a joint meeting on the 6th for public disclosure.

Transparency of information can prevent panic

After the emergency meeting of the transportation department on October 4th, Transport Minister Bonn told the media that according to feedback from various operators, there has been no abnormal increase in the number of bedbugs in public transportation vehicles and places in Paris and various parts of France.

Everyone can rest assured to take public transportation, "said Bonn.

At the same time, Bonn also announced that public transportation companies, including the Paris Metro and the French National Railways, will release information on bedbugs every three months, including reported numbers, number of kills, and so on.

On October 3, 2023 local time, in Paris, France, different products were used to eliminate bedbugs in the pest control store "HygienePremium".

Only absolute transparency can bring absolute trust, "said Bonn.

Strangely enough, after his speech, there were more passengers sitting on the Paris subway. I personally feel a lot of peace of mind. In fact, in the end, the bedbug crisis in France is not so much a biological crisis as a pure information and public relations crisis. When the public needs transparent and clear information, the government is unable to provide it in the short term, leading to the fermentation of panic among the public.

I hope that after the meeting on the 6th, the French government can solve the "bedbug crisis" with open and transparent data and measures in one fell swoop.

At the same time, friends who have plans to travel to Paris or France can rest assured to come and not worry too much about bedbugs.

(Xu Xiaofei, graduated from the School of Journalism at Columbia University and currently resides in Paris)

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