First paragraph of the article :

In October, many people in France became convinced their country was infested with bed bugs.
They saw the parasites everywhere, called exterminators in droves, and called for government action. But it appears that public panic far outstripped the bugs' actual prevalence.

While their population may have slightly increased over last year, there was no drastic spike in numbers.
The instance appears to be a textbook case of a media-fueled social panic, where a group of people reacts negatively and in an extreme or irrational manner to a situation.