Noémie Loiselle (in Tassin-la-Demi-Lune) / Photo credit: PHILIPPE HUGUEN / AFP 09h52, October 01, 2023

Bed bugs in cinemas, in the TGV... They are everywhere! To the point that it sometimes turns into psychosis. More and more people are wondering. Should you buy certain objects, certain clothes at street sales, or garage sales?

REPORT

In its latest report, the National Agency for Health Security (ANSES) revealed that our consumption patterns favoring second-hand purchases partly explained the resurgence of bed bug infestations. However, in the face of inflation, some second-hand dealers continue to buy at low prices. "I just bought a branded t-shirt for twice nothing." 1 euro for a T-shirt or jeans. Faced with rising prices, many families are going to flea markets and garage sales to save money.

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"When you have three children, the clothing budget is high, even if you have a salary, we will say in quotation marks, a little correct. You always have to be careful about spending because everything is increasing," says this buyer at a flea market in Tassin-la-Demi-Lune, near Lyon. But what also worries the French in recent days are bed bugs.

"It's a big anxiety for me"

Anne-Sophie may be a saleswoman at this flea market near Lyon, but it is with a hesitant eye that she looks at the clothes installed on the stalls of her neighbors. "It's a big anxiety for me, it's a risk," she says.

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The majority of second-hand dealers, however, prefer not to panic and remain vigilant. "The clothes we sell, they are clean and I think it's a minimum of respect compared to those who buy," says a seller. One buyer adds: "As soon as I buy, it goes straight to the bathroom. It's little critters that need to be treated and that's it."

In Lyon, bed bugs have been reported in several public places, at the Edouard Herriot hospital, in a TCL bus, or in a university library.