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A meme of a bedbug wearing a french hat with a cigarette in Paris in reference to the 2023 France Bed Bug Infestation.

2023 France Bed Bug Infestation / Paris Bedbug Outbreak

Updated Oct 09, 2023 at 04:08PM EDT by Zach.

Added Oct 03, 2023 at 07:52AM EDT by sakshi.

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Overview

2023 France Bed Bug Infestation, also known as the Paris Bedbug Outbreak, refers to reports about Paris being overrun with bed bugs in public spaces like trains and movie theaters in late 2023. News about the infestation spread in October 2023, with people noting that Paris Fashion Week and European Interrail systems could drive the bed bug infestation worldwide. Internet users made jokes and memes and shared anecdotes about their experiences with bedbugs in response to the news as it spread on social media.

Background

News about France and the U.K. seeing an uptick in bed bug infestations began to spread in 2023. Many articles cited a 2022 survey conducted by the French national health and sanitary body ANSES, which found that 11 percent of French households had dealt with bed bugs between 2017 and 2022.[1] U.K.-based pest company Rentokil also noted a 65 percent increase in bed bug infestations in the country.[2]

One of the earliest viral posts about France's bed bug infestation was an X[3] post shared by user @Germaarig on September 23rd, 2023 (seen below). The post showed people finding bed bugs on French public transportation, gathering over 6 million views and 7,000 likes in a week.


By October 2nd, various news publications wrote about the extent of France's bed bug problem, noting that Paris has been battling bed bugs in its movie theaters, public transportation and hotels for months.[4] French officials quoted in a statement said that the infestation will have no effect on the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.

Online Reactions

Various internet users expressed concern about Paris's bed bug infestation spreading internationally, given the city's ongoing Fashion Week and the upcoming 2024 Olympics. For example, X[5] user @erewhonsmoothie made a post on October 2nd, 2023, that read, "LA and New York about to be hit hard when everyone comes back from fashion week I fear," gathering over 50,000 likes in a day (seen below, left) X[6] user @cynfinite made a post on October 2nd that read, "I told my friend about this and she said, 'Somebody sacrificed the right goat in Haiti,' and I screamed," gathering over 165,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).


potato bun @erewhonsmoothie LA and New York about to be hit hard when everyone comes back from fashion week I fear Pop Tingz @ThePopTingz . Oct 1 Bedbugs have taken over Paris and have infested places like the subway, movie theaters, and the airport. Paris' deputy mayor warns: "no one is safe." 12:11 AM . Oct 3, 2023 3.3M Views . www નઝ : her name is cyn @cynfinite I told my friend about this and she said, “Somebody sacrificed the right goat in Haiti," and I screamed. Pop Tingz @ThePopTingz . Oct 1 Bedbugs have taken over Paris and have infested places like the subway, movie theaters, and the airport. Paris' deputy mayor warns: "no one is safe." 6:22 AM - Oct 2, 2023 9.2M Views 2009

On September 30th, TikToker[7] @raphaelinparis posted a video about traveling on the Paris subway, gathering over 800,000 plays and 59,000 likes in four days (seen below, left). On October 2nd, TikToker[8] @michelle_et_elles posted a video about checking the trains in Paris for bed bugs, gathering over 1.8 million plays and 39,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).

@raphaelinparis paris really said , lets go back, back to the beginning 💀 #paris #punaisesdelitparis #punaisesdelit #pourtoi #fyp #foryou #funny #drole #raphaelinparis ♬ original sound – Afro Spectrum

@michelle_et_elles Will be standing now on #fyp ♬ Otra Vez – ProdMarvin

Also on October 2nd, X[9] user @issahev posted a thread detailing their experience with bed bugs and how hard they can be to get rid of. The thread gathered over 35,000 likes in a day (seen below).


Hev @issahev. Oct 2 Bedbugs broke me. They stole 8 months of my life. I couldn't sleep because I was so paranoid about being bitten. The bites would itch for weeks, and even after they healed I had phantom itching. t 4,392 397 Hev @issahev. Oct 2 I had 3 rounds of chemicals poured into my flat to try and get rid of them but they kept coming back. When bedbugs bite you, they anaesthetise you so you don't feel it. But I was SO paranoid I started to feel it. I honestly overcame biology in my state of madness. Imagine. 10 11 162 35.7K 1 399 8 6,770 Hev @issahev · Oct 2 I used this to my advantage. I started killing them by hand, one by one, as they bit me at night. I slept only in white bed sheets so I could see them running away. Between 2:30am - 4am every day I would become the bed bug ninja. ₁4.4M 6,788 il₁483.4K 6,113 Hev @issahev. Oct 2 This is NOT a joke. This is how I got rid of them for good. I had lots of measures in place to help catch them, but this is how they finally stopped coming back. When I squished that last fully grown female full of my own blood, the relief I felt... unmatched. 97 145 ₁641.6K ₁461.5K Hev @issahev · Oct 2 If you get them or you have any questions hit me up. They do not discriminate. They could just crawl into your bag on the train, at a restaurant. Nobody is safe so start taking precautions now, especially if you've been travelling. If you're abroad, don't leave your bags open. 246 5,482 il 434.1K : !

Memes referencing the bed bugs in Paris and France also trended online in early October 2023, resulting in various coverage from sites and publications.[10]

2021 French Forum Post Conspiracy Theory

Parisians began sharing a forum post from May 2021 in light of the outbreak in 2023, where a French user named @LePUNAISEURFOU or "The Crazy Bug" shares his plan of mailing hundreds of bedbugs to random addresses in different French cities with the aim of infecting the entire country with bed bugs. The user claims that his motivation for his plan is that he hates France and hopes to make some money by investing in bug eradication services, while still inflicting the most psychological damage on French people possible.

The original forum post can be accessed at JVArchive,[11] while a translated version of the post is shown below.


The CRAZY BUG May 31, 2021 at 12:47:12 Hello kheys You have undoubtedly noticed a huge increase in topics on bedbugs, as a reminder, these are insects measuring a few millimeters to one centimeter which feed on your blood while you sleep. Once you see one it's ruined it's systematically that there are at least thousands if not millions of others hiding very discreetly until the problem is so serious that it is almost irresolvable. A few months ago I undertook a new kind of campaign. I, who live in accommodation close to a major bedbug infestation, started taking packs of ten in the building. in question, every day, and to send them by post, hidden in letters filled with hundreds of specimens when I am very motivated and all this totally at random everywhere in France The moment you open it, you're screwed and your new nightmare life begins.! When I send a letter it only takes a few weeks for the target's infestation to be irresolvable and in a few months an entire neighborhood has become unlivable, then two, then three, then four etc etc, in short it's a phenomenon exponential well yes jamy I have a letter budget of around 200 euros per month and I have already spent almost 8000. I reach every city in France EA But what is my goal you ask? Why do that oh big Mad Bug? Well that's where the stroke of genius arrives My interest is twofold. The first is that I hate, I hate France from the bottom of my guts and I hate the people who live here for the most part, I want this country to collapse as quickly as possible. I calculated that I have already cost more than 1 BILLION EUROS ALONE. And that's only taking into account the costs of treating bedbugs (which in practice is impossible, I'll tell you right away, it will always come back, don't worry, it's dead). And without counting the costs linked to psychological problems, loss of motivation, efficiency, lack of sleep, possible work accidents which may have occurred thanks to this etc etc. The second is that obviously knowing that bedbug infestations will increase I can not only ruin France, the state as well as individuals but also make as much money as possible by knowing which boxes to invest in and in which sector of activity exactly. The bedbug market is a growing market, very buoyant, I estimate it at more than 1000 billion units this year and double that next year with the return of tourism So

French X[12] user @LeKaManga posted about the thread on September 29th, 2023, mistakenly saying that it was from five months ago instead of from 2021. the post gathered over 29,000 likes in ten days (seen below, left). X[13] user @dyingscribe posted about the forum post on October 8th, 2023, gathering over 26,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).


*Leka * @LeKaManga Il y a 5 mois un mec du forum 18-25 a créer un topic dans lequel il expliquait faire un élevage de punaise de lit et avoir pour projet de les lachers dans le métro et les cinémas parisien Nous n'avons pas été assez attentif Translated from French by Google 5 months ago a guy from the 18-25 forum created a topic in which he explained that he was breeding bedbugs and had plans to release them in the Paris metro and cinemas We weren't careful enough Mediavenir @Mediavenir. Sep 29 FLASH - Les syndicats de la RATP lancent une "alarme sociale commune" suite au signalement (par un conducteur) de #punaisesdelit en cabine sur le RER B. Des voyageurs du RER C ont également signalé et filmé ces nuisibles dernièrement 1. (communiqué/témoins) #Paris 0:06 7:13 PM. Sep 29, 2023 2.8M Views Poe's Law, Esq: Poe's Lawyer @dyingscribe Oct 8, 2023 "I have a systematic plan to infect Paris with bed bugs" Apparently the Paris bed bug situation was done by some guy on 4chan on purpose, breeding them for months and making videos purposely releasing them on trains hotels and public areas he was in 5 months ago But what is my goal you ask? Why do that oh big Mad Bug? https://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2016/47/1479692339- jesmoke.png Well that's where the stroke of genius arrives https://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2019/27/7/1562461649- matheux.png • My interest is twofold. The first is that I hate, I hate France from the bottom of my guts and I hate the people who live here for the most part, I want this country to collapse as quickly as possible. I calculated that I have already cost more than 1 BILLION EUROS ALONE. And that's only taking into account the costs of treating bedbugs (which in practice is impossible, I'll tell you right away, it will always come back, don't worry, it's dead). And without counting the costs linked to psychological problems, loss of motivation, efficiency, lack of sleep, possible work accidents which may have occurred thanks to this etc etc. https://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2016/38/1474488566- jesus39.png The second is that obviously knowing that bedbug infestations will increase I can not only ruin France, the state as well as individuals but also make as much money as possible by knowing which boxes to invest in and in which sector of activity exactly. The bedbug market is a growing market, very buoyant, I estimate it at more than 1000 billion units this year and double that next year with the return of tourism Readers added context they thought people might want to know The story provided in the screenshot is not from 4chan, and is a translation from a French forum originally posted in 2021. Here is the original post: jvarchive.com/forums/42-51-6... Do you find this helpful? Rate it

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External References

[1] The Guardian – Return of the Bed Bug

[2] The Independent – Bed Bug Epidemic UK

[3] X – _LaTogolaise

[4]  CBS News – Pais Bedbugs Infestation

[5] X – erewhonsmoothie

[6] X – cynfinite

[7] TikTok – raphaelinparis

[8] TikTok – michelle_et_elles

[9] X – issahev

[10] Memebase – 25+ of Les Funniest Meme Reactions to the Paris Bedbug Outbreak

[11] JVArchive – LePUNAISEURFOU

[12] X – LeKaManga

[13] X – dyingscribe

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Imabigfish
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Imabigfish

A wandering bed bug once bit me. It seems that I'm allergic to it. Because of that, I didn't take it home. Now, I check every hotel room I stay in and put my suitcase in the tub or bathroom. When I get home, I put my bags in the freezer for about eight hours. F'ck these bugs.

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