The former French Prime Minister was heard on Tuesday October 18 by magistrates of the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) about the government’s management of the Covid-19 epidemic.
Following his hearing before the investigating committee of the Court of Justice of the Republic, former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe was placed on Tuesday under the status of assisted witness. He was placed under this intermediate status for endangering the lives of others and voluntary abstention from fighting a disaster, a source familiar with the matter told AFP, confirming information from public radio FranceInfo.
The former head of government, who was summoned for a first appearance interrogation, thus escapes at this stage from being indicted in this case. Prime Minister from May 15, 2017 to July 3, 2020, Édouard Philippe is suspected by some of not having ordered protective measures for healthcare personnel and exposed workers, nor of having anticipated the epidemic despite the alerts.
His summons had been announced for October 24, but the interrogation finally took place a week before. According to the French daily The world, he also had to explain himself on the maintenance of the first round of the municipal elections on March 15, 2020 while the contaminations intensified and on the late activation of the interministerial crisis unit, on March 17. ” I vigorously contest the charges against me “, assured the person concerned on October 9 to the French daily The Parisian.
The magistrates of the CJR, who have been investigating the government’s management of the crisis since July 7, 2020, indicted in September 2021 Agnès Buzyn, Minister of Health between May 2017 and February 2020 and now at the World Health Organization. Health (WHO), for endangering the lives of others. They placed her under the status of assisted witness for voluntary abstention from fighting a disaster.
The CJR, the only one authorized to prosecute and judge members of the government for crimes or misdemeanors committed in the exercise of their functions, opened a judicial investigation after nine complaints announced admissible on July 3, 2020. These complaints denounced in particular the lack of protective equipment for caregivers and the population, or even the errors on the need or not to wear masks. Since then, other complaints have been added to the file.
Mayor of Le Havre (west) and president of the Horizons political party close to the presidential majority, Édouard Philippe is given among the presidential contenders of 2027.