Emmanuel Macron announced it: France, like the rest of the world, is "in war" against the coronavirus. To face Covid-19 and limit the risks of its spread, the President of the Republic has taken unprecedented security measures: the closure of schools and public places "not essential to the life of the country" before asking all citizens to stay confined to their homes for several weeks. Essential rules to try to limit the waves of new infected patients in hospitals.
At the front of this unprecedented health crisis for France: the medical world. As the number of people infected with the virus continues to increase every day, healthcare professionals are facing a shortage of protective masks which is causing insecurity. On Friday March 20, 2020, Michaël Darmon explained on Europe 1 how France went from a stock of one billion surgical masks, 600 million FFP2 masks and 800 million surgical masks in 2011, to such a crisis.
"Today Emmanuel Macron is trying to put out the burning fire"
At that time, France had the largest reserve in the world, until the arrival of François Hollande at the Elysee in 2012 and the appointment of Marisol Touraine to the Ministry of Health. While the decision is made not to renew the stocks of FFP2 masks, a new doctrine leaves them to the responsibility of public and private employers. Henceforth, it is no longer up to the State to take care of these protections for hospital professionals and other professions in contact with the public.
Over the years, the strategic stock is used without ever being renewed until the shortage that France is currently experiencing. "Today Emmanuel Macron tries to put out the burning fire, and in private, he targets his predecessor, emphasizing that he is the first President to deal with masks, a stone in the garden of François Hollande", columnist underlines. In an attempt to cope with this health crisis, 12.3 million masks including 1.6 million FFP2 have recently been delivered for liberal professionals as well as a million masks sent by China.
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