French mayors cannot impose wearing of masks
Mayors do not have the right to impose the compulsory wearing of masks on its residents, a court ruled yesterday.
It was a new twist in the debate over the compulsory wearing of masks as the country continues to grapple with the best measures to avoid the spread of Covid-19.
The ruling from the Conseil l’Etat, the country’s highest administrative court, follows the decree by Philippe Laurent, the mayor of Sceaux, to impose the compulsory wearing of masks for anyone over the age of 10 in his commune, located just south of Paris, on April 6.
His decree was challenged in the courts by Human Rights League, which successfully saw the order stopped. However, Mr Laurent appealed to the Conseil l’Etat to overturn that decision.
Instead, the court ruled that mayors do not have the right to enforce the compulsory wearing of face masks, unless there were compelling local reasons. The judgement also said that the mayor’s decree undermined the national measures in place to combat the Covid-19 crisis as well as the prevention messages.
Read more: Covid-19 France: Mayors await info on masks for public
The judgment also referenced the emergency law that came into force on March 23, 2020 that gave the government to decide the measures to act during the coronavirus crisis.
A statement on the ruling said: “Mayors can contribute by applying the measures decided by the State in their municipality, in particular, prohibiting access to where gatherings are likely to occur.
“However, mayors may not, on their own initiative, take other measures to combat the health disaster, unless there are compelling reasons linked to local circumstances.
“It also judges these acts are likely to undermine the coherence of the measures taken by the health authorities.”
The mayors of Nice and Cannes had previously announced they were going to make the wearing of masks compulsory, while Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo had also indicated that she would follow other cities that made masks compulsory.
There has been significant debate over the wearing of mask by the general public during the coronavirus pandemic. France has followed World Health Organization advice, which is only wear a mask if you have COVID-19 symptoms or are looking after someone who may have COVID-19.
However, the Académie Nationale de Médecine has advocated the compulsory wearing of masks.
