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Paris is crawling with bedbugs. They're even riding the trains, and a ferry. (www.cbsnews.com)

submitted 11 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

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Just 10 months before the opening of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, the French capital is battling an invasion of bedbugs.

The tiny pests were first reported in hotels and vacation rental apartments across the city during the summer. Then there were sightings in movie theaters and, in recent days, there have even been reports of bedbugs crawling around on seats in both national high-speed trains and the Paris Metro system.

One metro train driver was dismayed to find some of the unwelcome guests in his driver's cabin.

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[-] pgp@sh.itjust.works 17 points 11 months ago

On behalf of Europe, I'd like to thank the US for this gift.

[-] AllBlue22@lemmy.world 125 points 11 months ago

Hate to burst your bubble but per the Center for Invasive Species "they are thought to have originated in Europe, the Middle East or in India, but moved across the world as humans did."

[-] ericisshort@lemmy.world 50 points 11 months ago

But … but the US makes such a good scapegoat!

[-] pgp@sh.itjust.works 10 points 11 months ago

The paper adds that DisneyLand Paris is regularly infested with bedbugs, noting that the tourist hotspot is hugely popular with... you guessed it, Americans.

https://www.thelocal.fr/20170413/are-american-tourists-behind-the-bed-bug-explosion-in-paris

[-] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 36 points 11 months ago

"Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no."

[-] ShakeThatYam@lemmy.world 36 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I'd like to know why the fuck Americans are traveling to Paris to go to Disneyland. We have two perfectly good Disney theme parks in the US. Why not go to France and enjoy French things??

Edit: OP is an idiot. Another commenter determined that less than 10% of visitors to Disneyland France are American.

[-] dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 35 points 11 months ago

A) Your source is behind a paywall, so I can't read it.

B) So Disney Land Paris is ONLY popular with Americans? Because if you honestly think that the reason Disney Land gets bedbugs is because Americans visit it, you might be a moron. Just because it is popular with Americans doesn't mean that no other countries visit it.

In fact, let's look at the numbers: in 2016, 49% of visitors to DL Paris were from France, 17% from the UK, 9% from Spain, and going down through Europe. The rest of the world (U.S. included) is only 9% of the visitors. In 2011, the numbers were 51% France, 12% UK, 9% Spain, and going down through Europe, with the rest of the world (US included) being 9%. I can't find any newer numbers than 2016, but if the percentages are almost identical from 2011 to 2016, then I'm guessing they are similar for 2023. So the entire premise of your argument that DL Paris gets bedbugs because of less than 10% of its tourists is so unbelievably stupid that I don't even know where to go from here.

[-] WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com 46 points 11 months ago

Wait until you find out where the US came from…

[-] bilb@lem.monster 25 points 11 months ago

It doesn't matter where the bedbugs came from, they are everywhere. Paris is an international destination; this is entirely Paris's failure to manage it a problem that comes inevitably with that status.

[-] HurlingDurling@lemm.ee 7 points 11 months ago

Wait, why?

[-] Voyajer@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago

He thinks bed bugs originated in the new world. (They've been present in Europe for 900+ years.)

[-] kale@lemmy.zip 2 points 11 months ago

If you want to blame the Americas for anything, blame syphilis. That wasn't in Europe until the late 1400/early 1500.

[-] pgp@sh.itjust.works 6 points 11 months ago

You can downvote me all you want, but the French think the same: https://www.thelocal.fr/20170413/are-american-tourists-behind-the-bed-bug-explosion-in-paris

[-] villainy@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago

I like how that article has zero data, just a couple anecdotes from French people who don't seem to like America.

[-] clegko@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

French people who don’t seem to like America.

So basically all of them?

[-] SaakoPaahtaa@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

Source: the fr*nch

The audacity

this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023

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