Justice. Covid-19 Management: Dismissal Expected This Monday for Édouard Philippe, Agnès Buzyn and Olivier Véran

A dismissal of charges is to be pronounced this Monday against three former members of the government, including Édouard Philippe , in the investigation carried out at the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) on the management of Covid-19 , according to a source close to the case.

The prospect of a distant trial

On May 21, a dismissal was requested in favor of the former Prime Minister (May 15, 2017 - July 3, 2020), the former Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn (May 17, 2017 - February 16, 2020) and her successor Olivier Véran (February 16, 2020 - May 20, 2022), removing the prospect of a trial , even if it was up to the CJR's investigating committee to decide.

The decision is expected to be communicated to the parties at 2:00 p.m., according to a source close to the case. The CJR is the only court empowered to prosecute and try members of the government — prime ministers, ministers, and secretaries of state — for crimes and offenses committed in the exercise of their functions.

This judicial investigation was opened in July 2020 for endangering the lives of others and willful failure to combat a disaster, following a series of complaints (doctors, patients, unions, etc.) which denounced poor anticipation by the government or late measures.

Placed under the status of assisted witness

The three politicians are not being charged , but are being placed under the more favorable status of assisted witness. Agnès Buzyn's charge of endangering the lives of others, handed down in September 2021, was overturned by the Court of Cassation in January 2023.

Rémy Heitz, Attorney General at the Court of Cassation, who acts as the public prosecutor at the CJR, explained on May 21 that the investigations had established that "numerous initiatives (had) been taken by the government to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, preventing the offense of willful abstention from combating a disaster from being established against Edouard Philippe and Olivier Véran."

And regarding Agnès Buzin, the public prosecutor noted that she left her post on February 16, 2020, "a date on which no incident within the meaning of the penal code had yet been characterized" in France, the first death of an infected patient having "occurred on February 25, 2020."