This week's episode looks at just how bad the bedbug crisis in France really is and why the insects have become political. It also examines why second homes in one part of France are being targeted by a bombing campaign and why American tourists were booed when arriving in France recently. And we also have essential wine tips for you.

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Welcome to a new episode of Talking France.

We are back with more insight into the big issues and talking points in France this week.

Including bed bugs. Yep they just won’t go away. We thought we had dealt with them on this podcast but they are back with a vengeance and we’ll try and explain whether France and particularly Paris has been overrun by an invasion of bloodthirsty insects.

We’ll also explain why second homes in one part of the country are being targeted in a bombing campaign, and delve into France’s regional identities and their quest for more autonomy.

We’ll also explain why a group of tourists including Americans were jeered as they arrived in France recently and why France’s attempt to colonise Florida is in the news this week

And we’ll wash all this down with some tips for how to make sure you are picking up a good bottle of wine in France and in particular whether those medals on bottles really mean anything?

Host Ben McPartland is joined by The Local France’s editor Emma Pearson, journalist Gen Mansfield and politics turned bedbug expert John Lichfield.

Further reading:

• French anti-terror police investigate explosions at second-homes
• OPINION: Why in France, even bedbugs are political
• Americans booed when disembarking cruise ship in western France
• How to handle a bedbug infestation in your French home

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