Former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe was placed under assisted witness status for “endangering the lives of others” and “voluntary refraining from combating a disaster” as part of his management of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), BFMTV learned this Saturday from concordant sources, confirming information from France News. A decision that comes after his hearing before the CJR this Tuesday.
From the first complaints, through the opening of an investigation, to this placement as an assisted witness of the former head of government, a review of the main stages of the investigation into the government’s management of Covid.
• The first complaints
On March 25, 2020, eight days after the beginning of the first confinement, the first five complaints against members of the government aimed at their management of the Covid-19 pandemic were registered in the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR).
They come from individuals, doctors, associations and address the Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, the former Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn (who left office on February 16 to stand in the municipal elections in Paris) or his successor Olivier Veran.
The plaintiffs accuse them, depending on the case, of endangering the lives of other people, manslaughter, not assisting a person in danger or not taking the appropriate measures to stop the epidemic.
• Opening of an investigation
On July 7, 2020, the CJR opened an investigation for “lack of opposition to a claim”, having considered nine complaints admissible, of the 90 received by the CJR.
Insufficient stock of masks, supply problem, underestimated epidemic risk: the survey focuses on the anticipation and daily management of the epidemic.
Subsequently, other complaints that are considered admissible will be incorporated into the file.
• Hearings and records
In early September 2020, the Court begins its hearings. On October 15, the homes and offices of Olivier Véran and Édouard Philippe, Agnès Buzyn and former government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye were raided.
Other searches took place in the Director General of Health Jérôme Salomon and the Director General of Public Health of France, Geneviève Chêne.
• Multiplication of complaints
In November of the same year, the CJR declared inadmissible a complaint against Jean Castex, who succeeded Édouard Philippe in Matignon on July 3. The complaint had been filed by an association of victims who believed that the government was still “navigating in plain sight.”
In January 2021, the Anticor association filed a complaint against Olivier Véran for “favouritism” in the management of the “Stop Covid” application, which became TousAntiCovid.
On March 30, a group of teachers filed a complaint against the Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, accused of “failing to protect staff in contact with children” who “spread the virus” of Covid-19.
• Agnès Buzyn accused
On September 10, 2021, Agnès Buzyn is accused of “endangering the lives of others”. She is also placed under the more favorable status of assisted witness for “voluntary refraining from fighting a claim.”
On October 18, 2022, Édouard Philippe was heard by the CJR and placed under assisted witness status for endangering the lives of others and voluntary refraining from combating a disaster.
Source: BFM TV
