A former collaborator of the Minister of Health Olivier Véran tried, in vain, to touch a commission by placing with the ministry an offer of FFP2 masks, in mid-March, in the midst of a shortage of masks to protect against the epidemic of coronavirus , Mediapart revealed on Saturday.
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No comments from the Ministry of Health
This ex-collaborator, Tewfik Derbal, who later became collaborator of a LREM deputy, Emilie Chalas, "confirmed" to the latter the facts reported by the information site, and resigned from his post on Friday, the press release said. deputy of Isère. She adds that she "ignored everything" about these "facts and behaviors", which she "condemns with the utmost firmness". For his part, Olivier Véran replied to the daily Le Dauphiné Libéré that "this story" does not "concern him".
"During the first weeks, the ministry received hundreds of offers of masks, by every conceivable channel. So much so that the crisis cell dedicated a team to examine these offers. The overwhelming majority was elsewhere alas bogus. I imagine that of Tewfik Derbal was also, since no follow-up was given, "he argues. Questioned by AFP, the Ministry of Health declined to comment.
"The transaction will never take place"
According to Mediapart, the former parliamentary assistant of Olivier Véran (ex-deputy of Isère) sought, in mid-March, to position an offer of FFP2 masks with the Ministry of Health.
These masks in large quantities - at least a million - were offered by a French import-export company with China, to whom "several countries" had expressed their interest, "except France", according to the daily.
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According to messages produced by Mediapart, the company then contacted Tewfik Derbal, who claimed to be "in touch" with the Ministry of Health, and claimed a commission as "business provider": a certain percentage of the price on each mask sold. A contract is signed between the two parties, but "the transaction will never take place", and "Tewfik Derbal will never finalize the order of the State", adds the newspaper.