Taken last Sunday, the municipal decree imposing the mask outdoors under penalty of a fine in Nice in most of the city center was validated on Wednesday by the administrative court, urgently seized by a lawyer from Nice and former president of this court who accused the mayor of excessive power.
The mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi "granted himself the power to replace the prefect: it is indeed a usurpation of skills, a manifest illegality", argued Me Jean-Marc Le Gars, former State Councilor, 73 years old, denouncing an attack on the freedom to come and go.
But according to the summary judge, on the one hand, the mayor acted within the framework of his general police power. On the other hand, the decree is "of limited scope in time and space", and "imposes restrictions justified by local circumstances" and "does not affect the consistency of the measures taken by the State. ".
A measure "in line with government logic"
In Nice since Monday, wearing a mask outdoors is compulsory under penalty of a fine from 10:00 am to 1:00 am in a large area delimited from the city center to the seaside. The instructions are relayed by the municipal police and by senior -speakers.
The lawyer for the city of Nice, Me Hervé Letellier, had defended a measure "of public interest", not taken "ex-nihilo" from the hat by Christian Estrosi but "in the logic of government".
"A science fiction system"
"In Nice, we are in a science-fiction system: we can be challenged by a loudspeaker, exactly as in Le Prisonnier!", Protested at the exit of the court Me Le Gars, in reference to the famous British series in which the hero is apostrophed by a numbered voice.
“I do not know if he (Christian Estrosi) wants to play the La Vertu fathers, but all that undermines fundamental freedoms. People are being banned from living on the pretext of keeping them in good health. All that remains is to prohibit residents of nursing homes from seeing their grandchildren for two years! ”He added.
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- epidemic
- Covid 19
- Nice