The Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, judged on Saturday "possible" the requisition of the means of production of masks, drugs and other materials to fight against the coronavirus, while stressing that it did not constitute a "magic wand" and was to be used "with caution".
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Asked at the government information point on this measure to produce on French soil and to cope with the shortage of masks, drugs, respirators and other products, Edouard Philippe said that "the full range of measures is possible". "The requisition, we did it with regard to masks to preserve national production, to ensure that no mask produced or stored on the national territory can leave it," he recalled.
Caution and firmness "
But it "is not a magic wand," warned the head of government. "It is sometimes counterproductive to carry out requisitions when the production chains are broken down, and when by requisitioning you break a production chain which is still functioning," he explained.
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The requisition tool is therefore "to be used with caution, with firmness when necessary, but with great intelligence of the economic system as a whole," insisted Edouard Philippe. France has also ordered "over a billion" masks, notably from China, to deal with the covid-19 epidemic, said Minister of Health Olivier Véran.