Paris Battles Bedbugs Ahead of Olympic Games

PARIS, FRANCE – The French government is battling to contain a bout of nationwide panic over bedbugs in Paris just nine months before the capital hosts next summer’s Olympic Games.

Government officials were holding an emergency meeting Friday on how to tackle a crisis following viral posts on social media.

Sniffer dogs are said to be inspecting French trains and the Paris metro for bedbugs, although the transport minister says so far not a single one has been found on public transport. 

There has been a mixture of media hysteria, political opportunism and national anxiety over whether the tiny critters might ruin the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.