France launches anti-bed bug offensive The French government has launched a campaign, complete with emergency hotline, to combat an influx of bedbugs that have settled into homes and hotels around the capital. After disappearing from France in the 1950s, the infuriating insects have resurfaced with a vengeance in Paris, according to the Housing Ministry, which cited international travel and growing resistance to insecticide as the main causes. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES