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🇫🇷 France /Environment & Climate

Loire town bans tiger mosquitoes from flying over it

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency New plan
  • The mayor of Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert issued an order banning tiger mosquitoes from flying over the Loire municipality, citing annoyance and irritation caused by their flights and bites.
  • The town has spent 45,000 euros on mosquito traps and habitats for bats, tits and swallows, while urging residents to remove standing water.
  • The mayor said no mosquitoes had been arrested or fined, as the species continues to spread in France amid climate change.

Tiger mosquitoes have officially been barred from flying over Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert, a Loire town whose mayor says the insects are making outdoor life unbearable.

The order, signed on Sept. 1 by Mayor Olivier Joly and revealed by TL7 Loire, declares that mosquitoes whose low or circular flights and bites cause “annoyance and exasperation” could face legal action if they fail to comply. No mosquito has yet been arrested or fined.

A serious and light-hearted subject at the same time, but these little things can make our lives miserable.

· Olivier JolyThe mayor explained the reasoning behind the mosquito order.

Joly described the measure as “a serious and light-hearted subject at the same time,” saying the insects can make daily life miserable. After returning from vacation, he said residents confronted him with a simple complaint: “We can no longer have an aperitif outside!” He said the order was also intended to bring attention back to practical measures residents can take nearby.

When I returned from vacation, residents came at me saying: We can no longer have an aperitif outside!

· Olivier JolyThe mayor described residents’ complaints about mosquitoes.

The municipality has already installed mosquito traps, bat shelters, tit nesting boxes and solar poles designed to attract swallows, which also feed on mosquitoes. It has so far allocated 45,000 euros to the effort. The order asks residents to remove standing water from buckets, flowerpot saucers and used tires, maintain gutters and drains, and cover or treat pools.

Joly said each resident has a role because a tiger mosquito spends most of its life within 150 meters of where it was born. The species, detected in mainland France in 2004 after being confined mainly to tropical and subtropical regions, continues to expand. A study by the Research Institute for Development, Cirad and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics said it could spread across almost all of France by 2085, except mountainous areas, with locally transmitted dengue potentially affecting a substantial part of the country.

At this stage, no mosquito has been arrested or fined.

· Olivier JolyThe mayor acknowledged the practical limits of the order.
About this summary

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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