Professor Didier Raoult, head of the Institut Méditerranée-Infection in Marseille, lodged a complaint with the Paris prosecutor's office for "slanderous denunciation" against the director of Paris hospitals (AP-HP) Martin Hirsch who had accused him of " false testimony ", we learned Thursday from corroborating sources.
LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Thursday, July 30
Heard before the commission of inquiry of the National Assembly on June 24, Didier Raoult, known for his defense of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment against the coronavirus, had affirmed that the mortality in the resuscitations of the public assistance of the hospitals of Paris (AP-HP) was "43%". "With us, it is 16%," he added, relying on a report from the AP-HP crisis unit dated April 14.
"It goes beyond the scientific sphere"
The director of the AP-HP, Martin Hirsch, had protested on June 26 against the statements of the Marseille researcher, in a letter to the President of the National Assembly in which he considered that the words of Didier Raoult "seem to be similar to false testimony ".
"Until now, it was a question of scientific controversies which have always existed, Professor Raoult has always accepted the controversies but this goes beyond the scientific sphere", declared to AFP Me Brice Grazzini, lawyer of Didier Raoult , who confirms having filed a complaint on Wednesday.
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> Coronavirus: three questions on rapid serological tests in pharmacies
> Holidays: should grandparents worry about looking after their grandchildren?
> Coronavirus: in schools, the health protocol will remain the same at the start of the school year
> Coronavirus: the 5 mistakes not to make with your mask
> Coronavirus: what we know about transmission by micro-droplets in the air
> Coronavirus: three questions on rapid serological tests in pharmacies
> Holidays: should grandparents worry about looking after their grandchildren?
> Coronavirus: in schools, the health protocol will remain the same at the start of the school year
> Coronavirus: the 5 mistakes not to make with your mask
> Coronavirus: what we know about transmission by micro-droplets in the air
Since the start of the epidemic, Didier Raoult's defense of hydroxychloroquine has given rise to many controversies in the scientific world. "There, it's different, my client risks five years in prison and a 75,000 euros fine," added his advice. According to him, Martin Hirsch "accused Professor Raoult of false testimony under oath whereas he was based on statistics of the AP-HP".
An obsolete document
Martin Hirsch had confirmed the authenticity of this document but stressed that it dated from almost three months ago at the time of the hearing and was therefore obsolete. He added that at the time, according to the same document, about half of the patients hospitalized in intensive care were still admitted there, and that we therefore did not yet know the outcome of their illness (death or cure).
"There is no match between the AP-HP and the AP-HM, Professor Raoult was just talking about a lack of resources, because we had anticipated things by testing more in Marseille than elsewhere" , underlined Me Grazzini.
At the beginning of July, Martin Hirsch assured that the mortality of patients with Covid-19 in the resuscitation services of the AP-HP is estimated between 25% and 35%, and not 43% as claimed by Didier Raoult. "My role is not to police the percentages, but if it is to (influence) the commission of inquiry on the basis of biased and partial data, it is my role to react promptly", had- he declared on July 6 in front of the deputies.