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* Alasdair Sandford in Paris
* The Guardian,
* Saturday May 3 2008 Horses in Camargue, France Areas such as the Camargue face a mosquito plague because of new
inferior insecticide, says France. Photograph: Alamy/PCL
Authorities in southern France fear a possible mosquito invasion in
tourist resorts this summer and blame EU regulations which prevent them
from using the most efficient insecticide. The area affected runs from the Camargue down to the Spanish border.
Agents from the EID, the Entente interdépartementale de démoustication
which clears thousands of hectares of marshland each year, say the new
rules are forcing them to carry out this year's operation in record
time, and with no guarantee of success, following recent rain. For the first time since the early 1960s they cannot use temephos - a
pesticide now banned by the European Union. Instead the EID says it is
obliged to turn to a bacterium considered to be more
environment-friendly, but which experts argue leaves little margin for
error. In the 1950s millions of mosquitoes inhabited what were then coastal
marshlands, before the development of large purpose-built resorts such
as La Grande-Motte and Le Cap d'Agde. The EID stresses it is "not panicking" about any potential reduction of
tourist numbers. Bernard Sauvaire, head of the regional tourism chamber,
told Le Figaro. "The EID's operations have always been successful. We're
simply much more alert," he said. Whereas simple contact with temephos was enough to kill the larvae, one
agent explained that BTI had to be ingested within a specific time
period to be effective. "If it doesn't work, we can't re-do the
treatment because it's already too late," he said. Six low-flying planes - three times the usual number - are complementing
the work of dozens of spraying vehicles, including amphibious
caterpillars and 4-wheel drive motorbikes. Christian Jean, the EID chairman, said he hoped the extra planning would
help "avoid catastrophe".
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