“Reassure and protect”, Clément Beaune posted as his slogan on Twitter regarding the resurgence of bedbugs in France last week, just before bringing together transport operators on the subject.
The Minister of Transport probably did not expect to also have to deflate the controversy at CNN, the American television channel where he spoke on Friday. “There are no invasions,” he recalled, responding to the concerns of the foreign press in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Empty concern from the foreign press
A myriad of articles have taken up the phrase of Emmanuel Grégoire, the first deputy at Paris City Hall who affirmed that “no one [n’était] to the shelter” on LCI last Friday. CNN headlined this sentence when other English-speaking media cited it like the Guardian Or The Mirror. Many foreign media focus on public transport. Bedbugs “even take the train and the ferry,” warns the CBS channel.
“The phenomenon exists, we must not hide, or say that there is nothing to do. We are more transparent, we are taking action. We must not panic,” replied Clément Beaune, on CNN. “There is no panic,” he assures, recalling, in particular, that last Wednesday he asked each transport operator to check each case of the presence of bedbugs reported by users. .