Agnes Buzyn comes out of her silence. After almost two months spent in absolute discretion, the former Minister of Health of the government Philippe finally speaks, at the microphone of France Inter, Thursday, June 28, 2020. Guest of Léa Salamé, the candidate for mayor of Paris, who confirmed to be a candidate in the second round, gives her news and explains her long silence. "I'm fine", does she start in a small voice. “I worked, I took a step back, I observed, I thought. I drew the conclusion that the French were afraid and I understand them. I think that we were not all sufficiently prepared for such a drama and that this confinement was an opportunity to realize that we were fragile. I understand the reflexes of fear, they have generated a lot of criticism, the search for those responsible, and I find it obviously normal to give feedback, we will do it. ” The hematologist, who went to the front of the caregivers to face the Covid-19 crisis while returning to hospital, said he had waited until the date of the second round of the municipal elections was announced to resume speaking. "I didn't want to react hot […] and this time of reflection allowed me to mature too […] I didn't want to use this period of confinement to continue campaigning. I thought the emergency was somewhere else. ” While a group of carers seized the Court of Justice for “Culpable negligence” on the part of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and the former Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn concerning their management, deemed disastrous at the start of the crisis, the 57-year-old politician and doctor says she is not afraid of a possible criminal trial . "I have my conscience for myself, I know what I have done and I would say that I look forward to being able to speak before the parliamentary committee of inquiry."
"I was not ready for such violence […] Plot violence, anti-Semitic attacks"
Still, Agnes Buzyn was targeted by sexist and anti-Semitic insults during the coronavirus crisis and in particular during the confinement period and is now subject to police protection. "Obviously, I saw the scale of the attacks from March 16", she is sorry. “I was ready because I knew that political life was very hard. But I was not ready for such violence. It was incredible. Plot violence, indeed anti-Semitic attacks, which were also linked, I think, to this fear of the epidemic. A fairly old reflex in populations to find a responsible. Being a woman in politics … I was warned, so I'm not surprised. " The candidate for mayor of Paris, who fights against the current mayor of the Capital Anne Hidalgo and the figure The Republicans Rachida Dati, assures, however, that these violent attacks have made her stronger. “It also allowed me to strengthen myself. In reality, I also had a lot of support during this period. I come out reinforced and ready for combat. JI’ve had death threats on social media, I’ve been verbally assaulted, I’ve been physically assaulted while I was alone.” And to add: "This is not, I hope, intended to last.
The maintenance of "betrayal"
Finally, Agnès Buzyn admits bitterly regretting her interview with World. “From the start, I only thought of one thing: the coronavirus. We should have stopped everything, it was a masquerade. The last week has been a nightmare. I was scared at every meeting. I lived this campaign in a dissociated way ”, she said about the first round, March 17, 2020. At the microphone of France Inter, the candidate is justified today: "For the context […] I saw the epidemic progressing and I was almost certain that we could not hold the second round of the elections and I was very nervous. I answered that, and that's what I called a masquerade. So the word was perhaps too strong, certainly. He shocked. I am a direct woman, I have a direct language. ” According to her, this interview was interpreted as a betrayal. “As if we hadn’t done it and we’ve worked hard. And with the government, starting in January, to prepare for this eventuality. ”
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