Pharmacists thought they could only provide masks to healthcare professionals. A decree actually authorized them to sell masks to the general public since the end of March!
- Pharmacists thought masks were only for healthcare professionals
- A fine was even provided for those who did not comply with this rule widely relayed by the authorities
- This measure in fact only targeted masks made in France, not imported products.
Masks are the subject of a new controversy in France. After questions about the stocks present before the epidemic, pharmacists discovered that they could have sold them to individuals from the end of March. Teams from the “L’œil du 20 heures” section on France 2 found it on Thursday 7 May.
The sale of imported masks authorized
In mid-March, government statements indicate that masks must be reserved for health professionals, and that it is therefore impossible for individuals to obtain them in pharmacies. Pharmacists comply with the rule, under penalty of a fine of 10,000 euros or even six months in prison.
The website reflections reveals that in fact, a decree, published on March 23 in the Official Journal, authorized them to do so. The various articles of the text explain that the masks present on the territory, or produced on it, are compulsorily requisitioned, on the other hand, imported masks are not necessarily so. “Stocks of imported masks may, however, give rise to total or partial requisition, by order of the Minister responsible for health, beyond a threshold of five million units per quarter per legal person, specifies the text. The silence kept by this Minister for more than seventy-two hours after receipt of an import request sent by this person or the importer obstructs the requisition.” This means that imported masks, in the absence of a requisition upon their arrival in the territory, can be sold in pharmacies.
Conflicting information
“There are many pharmacists who suddenly discover that they have been lied to since March 24,” explains Me Fabrice Di Vizio, lawyer for certain pharmacists, to France 2. A wholesaler of medical equipment confides that she tried to sell masks to her customers by presenting them with the decree and the opinion of her lawyer, without success: “We ended up with a Council of the Order and unions who told pharmacists: ‘the instruction is to give priority to caregivers and not to sell masks’.” A position confirmed by the president of the Order of Pharmacists, Carine Wolf-Thal. She said to France 2 : “We followed the instructions of the Ministry of Health, but which certainly does not have the force of law. We therefore asked pharmacists not to sell these surgical masks in order to reserve them for health professionals.”
Masks required from May 11
As deconfinement approaches, the French now have access to masks in pharmacies and supermarkets. From Monday, May 11, wearing them becomes compulsory on public transport for those over 11 and for certain schoolchildren, depending on age. It can also be in the workplace. Some merchants may also condition entry into their store to the wearing of a mask.
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