A French television presenter has sparked outrage after suggesting immigrants were responsible for France’s recent bedbug invasion.
Pascal Praud, a presenter on the right-wing channel CNews, suggested there may be a link between the bedbugs and the arrival of immigrants to the country who “do not have the same sanitary conditions” as those “on French soil.”
The recent bedbug epidemic has seen insects crawling over seats on the Paris metro, on high-speed trains and at Paris’s Charles-de-Gaulle airport.
Praud, 59, and his comments were quickly condemned by Emmanuel Macron’s government. French Minister for the Fight against Discrimination, Bérangère Couillard, called Praud’s comments “shocking.”
“I will never accept hate speech in the media,” Couillard added.
The presenter denied he was racist and said he was ‘insulted, harassed and vilified’ by those who questioned him online.
Pascal Praud, a presenter on the right-wing channel CNews, suggested there may be a link between the bedbugs and the arrival of immigrants to France.
Video footage shared online shows the insects crawling over seats on the Paris metro, high-speed trains and at Paris’s Charles-de-Gaulle airport
‘Do journalists have to justify the questions they ask?’ Praud said, defending himself. The presenter claimed he was ‘pilloried’ for ‘refusing uniformity of thought’.
Praud is now under investigation by Arcom, the French broadcasting regulator.
Praud had been speaking to Nicolas Roux de Bezieux, a pest control expert, on his show last week when he suggested the connection.
“There’s a lot of immigration right now,” Praud said. ‘Is it the people who do not have the same sanitary conditions as those who are on French territory who bring (bedbugs) with them because they are on the streets, perhaps because they do not have access to (public services)? Does it have anything to do with that?’
Roux de Bezieux rejected Praud’s association between the influx of bed bugs and immigration. He said hygiene standards have no impact on bedbugs and said they “affect absolutely everyone.”
CNews is the most watched news channel in France after BFM TV and has a strongly right-wing editorial stance. The same channel gave rise to Éric Zemmour, an extreme right-wing politician who built up a significant following as a presenter before running for president in 2022.
The channel is owned by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, who is reportedly close to the far-right Le Pen dynasty, Marine and her elderly father Jean-Marie – both of whom have run for president several times with the populist National Rally (formerly National Front) party.
Images of the bugs in France’s modes of transport have been shared online
Pascal Praud is now under investigation by Arcom, the French broadcasting regulator
Bed bugs get their name from their habit of burrowing into mattresses, although they can also hide in clothing and luggage
Bed bugs have gone from a subject of potential ridicule to a controversial political issue in France in recent weeks, with stunned citizens reporting sightings of the creatures in locations including trains, the Paris metro and cinemas.
The concerns have become even more important as France is busy hosting the Rugby World Cup and Paris prepares to welcome athletes and fans from around the world for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Two schools – one in Marseille and the other in Villefranche-sur-Saône outside Lyon in southeastern France – have become infested with bedbugs and have been closed for several days for cleaning, local authorities said.
The aim of the meeting on Wednesday, at which Transport Minister Clement Beaune will receive transport and passenger organizations, will be to “quantify the situation and strengthen the measures”, his ministry said.
“We want to inform about the actions taken and act in the service of travelers to reassure and protect travelers,” the ministry said.