Former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has been summoned before the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) over numerous complaints about the government's poor management of the COVID-19 pandemic under his leadership, Le Monde newspaper reported on Tuesday
PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th October, 2022) Former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has been summoned before the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) over numerous complaints about the government's poor management of the COVID-19 pandemic under his leadership, Le Monde newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Philippe is due to appear in court on October 24, according to the newspaper. The summons of the CJR, which is the only court authorized to investigate ministers' actions while in office, declared that the court has allowed the opening of a trial against Philippe on charges of "endangering the lives of others" and "voluntary abstention from combating a disaster," the report said.
Several associations of pandemic victims have filed numerous complaints about the government's work, accusing it of overdue actions during the first wave of the pandemic, the newspaper said. The judges will consider, in particular, the timing of the placement of a state order for the production of medical masks, the timing of the creation of a crisis response center, as well as the holding of municipal elections in May 2020 at the height of the pandemic, according to the report.
Philippe, currently the mayor of the city of Le Havre, served as French prime minister from May 2017 to July 2020.
In September 2021, an investigation was launched against former French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn, who was in office from May 2017 to February 2020, over her response to the pandemic. Associations of pandemic victims have also filed complaints against her successor Olivier Veran, currently French government spokesman, who was the country's health minister from February 2020 to May 2022.
