Key Sentence:
- The former French health minister was officially examined for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prosecutors investigating Agnes Buzin the government’s failure are investigating Agnes Buzin for “endangering. The lives of others.” Buzyn left his post to run for mayor of Paris in February 2020 and said Covid was a low risk. However, he later said he knew a tsunami was approaching.
It is one of the first cases where a minister is legally responsible for his response to the pandemic.
The wording of one of the charges Agnes Buzin examined was “inability to resist the disaster,” according to Le Monde. At the trial on Friday, the 58-year-old woman said she welcomed the opportunity to clarify the truth and “seek the truth,” AFP reports.
When we have done so much to prepare our country for the global health crisis.
Buzyn took over as French Minister of Health in May 2017 and resigned just weeks after confirming France’s first Covid-19 case.
Last year she lost the mayoral election in Paris to Anne Hidalgo. The former doctor then assumed the Head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Gebreesus, in January 2021. Le Monde said Buzyn spoke of the “shallow risk” of a significant Covid-19 outbreak before leaving his post.
The announcement comes as part of a more comprehensive investigation into the government’s response to the pandemic. Including its preparations, policy changes, and the launch of research on the virus. The Republican Court of Justice is a controversial institution that grants judges and lawmakers the right to investigate. Try and punish ministers for crimes arising out of their state work. The court is investigating allegations of negligence in providing protective clothing to health workers and confusion in counseling about masks.
But there are many French politics – including the opposition – who find the court’s actions troubling. They fear that a particularly persistent judiciary section is in danger of crippling the executive branch. And deterring ministers who fear prosecution from anything but the most cautious response to the emerging crisis.