The administrative court suspended the prefectural decree that made it mandatory to wear the mask outside in Paris on Thursday.
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Wearing a mandatory mask outdoors in Paris has been suspended by the administrative court of the capital Thursday, January 13 in the evening. The lawyer Jean-Baptiste Soufron, who had filed an appeal against the measure believes that it is “a good decision, we must salute it”.
Wearing a mask outside in Paris everywhere and all the time, “It is an ineffective measure, too broad and embarrassing for everyone, infringing on everyone’s freedoms, when we know very well that it has no effectiveness”, he continued. “We can’t do political communication like that on people’s backs”, denounced Jean-Baptiste Soufron.
Joined by franceinfo, the Paris police headquarters does not wish to react at this stage.
franceinfo: In whose name did you denounce this prefectural decree before the Paris administrative court?
Jean-Baptiste Soufron: It was a request brought by myself and by three law professors (Paul Cassia, Laura Vitale and Samuel François). It was fairly obvious that this totally general obligation to wear a mask throughout Paris, including at times when the streets are empty and at times when there is no one there, was manifestly disproportionate and could not be taken that way. We had already made a first appeal a few dozen days ago, which had been rejected on the grounds that there did not seem to be an emergency. And we made this second recourse, perhaps argued in a slightly different, more precise way. The main problem is that when you take a measure that is restrictive of freedom, when you impose something on everyone, generally speaking, it is important that the measure taken is both necessary […] and strictly proportionate.
This is not the case here?
Everyone agrees that the virus does not necessarily spread on empty streets or when people are far enough apart. There are places that are empty, where people are quiet. We can see that there are times when we want to force the wearing of the mask outside, for example in certain gatherings or on exits of the store. But at that point, you have to target those places precisely, so that people know when to wear the mask or not. Deciding that it was worn all the time for everyone was not acceptable from a rule of law point of view.
Why did you win your case?
There have been several series of legal actions that have been taken against this decree. The Council of State this week arrived recalling this obligation, that measures of this type are strictly proportionate and that they are necessary. We cannot take just any measure to give the impression that we are going to act. It is a measure which is in fact ineffective, too broad and embarrassing for everyone, infringing on everyone’s freedoms, even though we know very well that it is ineffective. […] We cannot do political communication like that on people’s backs, especially in times of Covid-19. There is a rule of law to respect. The law guarantees, in fact, that we will pay attention to the various stages which allow the measures taken by the administration and the government to be monitored.
Don’t you think that the prefecture will take a new decree?
When they introduced themselves [au tribunal administratif], we had to explain ourselves, say why we wanted this decree to be canceled, it is not automatic. At the time of this debate, the prefecture had zones and timetables in mind. But they said: “from midnight to midnight, it’s already a schedule“. And then, when they realized that the text on the exit from the state of emergency was not enough, they wanted to apply a text which dates from Napoleon. One has the impression of being faced with a a certain lack of preparation, with responses that were not necessarily serious from the prefecture, the administration and the government. Either this obligation to wear the mask was a pretext to stir up a little agitation, to show that they were present […] Or, indeed, it is useless, and it was perhaps not the measure to be taken. I think that on this subject, now, we must stop wasting time.