Marine Le Pen on Tuesday demanded of the government "more serious measures" against the coronavirus, denouncing a "total inconsistency" of France in its management of the risk of the coronavirus and again calling for border controls. "The French are not children, you have to tell them the truth. Not telling them the truth is actually aggravating the people's sense of danger", accused the president of the National Rally during a visit to the agricultural centre.
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"We need to take more serious measures"
According to her, "all the protective measures have not been taken since at the time when we speak, we are in a total inconsistency: we quarantine French people who return from China but on the other hand planes return from China, several, every day in France, without there being any measure concerning them ", she accused.
"For that, they really took the measure of the problem? I do not have the feeling of it," she added, referring to "testimonies of people returning from Beijing to whom we have not absolutely nothing asked "and to whom" one vaguely indicates a poster stuck in an airport ". "Now, obviously, now that we are facing a major epidemic in Italy, but not only, also in Iran (...), we must take measures which are more serious measures", added Marine Le Pen .
"The border in reality is an element of protection of populations"
Should border controls be introduced? "Of course, but we need controls anyway: the border is in reality an element of protection for populations, whatever the situation," she said, referring to "all the people who cross the border without being at all controlled because they are in a clandestine situation ". The Minister of Health Olivier Véran stressed on Tuesday that France" does not close the borders, because it would not make sense "and that" at this stage, it there is no reason to (consider) it ".
The European Commission had indicated the day before that it did not immediately wish to reinstate border controls inside the EU, a decision which remains on the initiative of the member states, and which must be "based on an assessment credible risk and scientific evidence ", be" proportionate "and" taken in coordination with others ". According to Brussels, no country has yet notified the Commission that it has taken such a decision because of the new coronavirus.