Paris, the eternal city of light is besieged by bedbugs.

The critters have been seen in hotels, trains, cinemas and homes.

The concern has now spread to other European tourism destinations and precautions are now being taken.

In the UK, Eurostar put out a statement on the matter that read: “Our trains are cleaned thoroughly on a regular basis including with heat and the presence of insects such as bedbugs is extremely rare.”

Tourism is the lifeblood of many Caribbean countries and it would be a disaster if bedbugs took a bite of this vital industry. Caribbean tourism has only recently recovered from the COVID pandemic and to be beset by an outbreak of bedbugs in hotels and villas would seriously set it back.

Last year Paris saw 44 million tourists and so this bedbug outbreak is being monitored by the French Government.

The French health and safety agency ANSES declared: “ The upsurge in bedbug infestations in recent years has been due in particular to the rise in travel and the increasing resistance of bedbugs to insecticides.”

The French capital has just hosted the Rugby World Cup and Paris Fashion Week. It is all set to stage the Olympics in 2024 and will be anxious to get on top of this bedbug situation.

Deputy Mayor of Paris Emmanuel Gregoire is concerned and notes the widespread nature of this bedbug infestation.

“You have to understand that in reality no one is safe. Obviously there are risk factors but in reality you can catch bedbugs anywhere and bring them home.”

Johanna Fite from ANSES added, “ It’s mainly due to the movement of people, populations traveling, the fact that people stay in short-term accommodation and bring back bedbugs in their suitcases or luggage.”

Some have blamed mass immigration into Europe for the bedbug situation, people from other parts of the world bringing in diseases and infections. French Health Minister Aurelien Rousseau was quick to squash that, saying, “It’s got nothing to do with immigration, it’s related to movement. When you come back from abroad, you might bring bedbugs back with you.”