The Council of State: scratching hair or shining brush of the government?


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The Covid-19 pandemic in Francecase

While the number 1 of the Council of State, Bruno Lasserre, bows out on Tuesday, “Liberation” looks back on four key decisions taken in recent months by the institution.

Wearing a mask in the street, closing a mosque, setting up wind farms, relegating Amiens to Ligue 2… The Council of State is regularly called upon to rule on a wide range of subjects. Created in 1799 at the initiative of Napoleon Bonaparte, the highest administrative court still plays an essential role today. Qualified by some newspapers“Antechamber of power” or from “Fashionable judge”, the Council of State has a double mission: to judge and advise. Elected officials, parliamentarians, unions, associations and citizens rely on his authority. Its originality? It has no president, only a vice-president. Since May 2018, it is the senior official Bruno Lasserre who has been in charge. While he is retiring on Tuesday and the name of his successor is not yet known – he should be announced at the next Council of Ministers -, return in four acts over almost four years at the helm of the administrative institution.

Traffic jam linked to Covid-19

The health crisis has breathed new life into the Council of State, over-requested since March 2020. No less than 1,300 emergency appeals have been filed in connection with the management of the epidemic. “The Council of State has been overwhelmed by an avalanche of procedures for interim relief or suspension. It’s quite gigantic and unexpected ”, confirmed Didier Maus, of the French Association of Constitutional Law, …



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