His opinion on chloroquine had been awaited since he had met Marseille professor Didier Raoult. In an exclusive interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI), President Emmanuel Macron qualified Didier Raoult, Wednesday April 15, as "a great scientist", believing that biotherapy should be concocted by this specialist in infectious diseases " be tested ".

"The dual therapy that Professor Raoult offers, it must be tested," said the President of the Republic in a recorded interview which will be broadcast at 8:30 am on RFI. "We have to move forward, show efficiency and measure toxicity". This while being "very careful", continued the head of state.

Emmanuel Macron paid a surprise visit last week to Didier Raoult, who was strongly criticized for his studies on the treatment of Covid-19. The latter claims that hydroxychloroquine - a derivative of chloroquine, a drug against malaria - is effective in the dual therapy treatment of the new coronavirus.

But his studies are not unanimous among specialists: epidemiologists criticize the absence of a control group receiving a placebo and a bias, study participants with less severe forms of the disease.

"I am passionate about what he says and what he explains"

"It is not a question of belief, it is a question of scientist. I am convinced that he is a great scientist, and I am passionate by what he says and what he explains", noted Emmanuel Macron on RFI, saying that Didier Raoult was "truly one of our greatest authorities on the subject".

"My duty is that all the therapeutic approaches pursued today can be subject to rigorous clinical trials and as quickly as possible so that a treatment can be found," he continued, stressing that his "role" consisted in ensuring that Professor Raoult's research "fit well within the framework of a clinical trial protocol".

Professor Raoult "invites us to be humble", noted Emmanuel Macron, "because he himself says that things can vary according to the seasons and the geographies, and that a virus reacts to an ecosystem".

With AFP

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