Paris (AFP)

Korian, the European number one in private retirement homes, announced Thursday that it would lodge a complaint against the daily Liberation, deeming an article "calling into question its management of the Covid-19 epidemic crisis", published a few days ago.

"In its file of Monday, April 20, 2020, Liberation titled + Ehpad the underside of a disaster + questioning the management of the Covid-19 epidemic crisis by Korian and claiming in a false way that Korian would have done nothing, as of the signals alert, to protect residents and their caregivers, "he said in a statement.

"This assertion as well as other elements of the file are defamatory," said the group, which announced "having taken legal action to act in defamation".

Korian, which manages 308 establishments out of 7,500 retirement homes in France, claims to have "done everything to protect its residents and staff who give the best of themselves in the service of the most vulnerable".

"The group will systematically defend itself, including through the courts, against those who make serious and unacceptable accusations against the company and its teams," he concluded.

As of April 23, the group had recorded 606 deaths due to the coronavirus in its retirement homes in France where 23,000 people reside, said its general manager Sophie Boissard on Monday in an interview with the Parisian.

And 258 medico-social establishments out of 803 (retirement homes but also clinics and service residences for seniors), or about a third, "have certified cases of Covid-19 among the residents," he said on Wednesday, while 1,394 employees tested positive, "or 2.5% of employees". However, screening campaigns have still only covered 30% of the network.

Present in France, Germany, Benelux and Italy, the group notably recorded 38 deaths out of 109 residents in its Ehpad La Riviera in Mougins (Alpes-Maritimes), a situation which raised questions and criticisms.

On the side of families and civil parties, ten complaints were registered, said Thursday AFP Me Fabien Arakelian, who represents several. On April 23, the prosecutor's office in Grasse reported a total of eight complaints from family members of people admitted to this nursing home, some of whom died, as well as a complaint from the town hall of Mougins.

The total toll of the epidemic stood at 24,087 dead since March 1 in France, including 9,034 in retirement homes.

© 2020 AFP