A viral message states that the current Prime Minister was adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009 and responsible for the “H1N1 scandal”. Jean Castex only joined the Elysee Palace in November 2010, after the H1N1 flu epidemic
- Jean Castex adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009 and, as such, responsible for the “H1N1 scandal” and “mass vaccination with Tamiflu”? This is the viral message circulating on social networks.
- Jean Castex was indeed advisor to the former President of the Republic, but he did not take office at the Elysee Palace until November 2010.
Jean Castex behind the H1N1 flu vaccination campaign ? This is what suggests, wrongly, a viral image, presenting him as adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009. The publication is accompanied by a photo showing the Prime Minister posing with the former President of the Republic.
Here is what we can read on this post, relayed on Facebook and Twitter: “Jean Castex was adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009! The H1N1 scandal , the mass vaccination with Tamiflu for 1.5 billion for the benefit of Big Pharma, it is already him! The URL of Jean Castex’s Wikipedia page is also included in the image, presumably to add a veneer of authenticity to these claims.
True or False ?
Jean Castex was indeed adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy, but he was not appointed until November 2010. His appointment was then published in the Official Journal. Jean Castex was in charge of social issues for the then President of the Republic. He held this position until February 2011, when he was appointed Deputy Secretary General of the Elysee Palace.
In 2009, Jean Castex focused on his local mandates: he had been elected the previous year mayor of Prades, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, and president of the community of communes of the Confluent. He also devoted himself to the campaign for the 2010 regional elections , as recounted in his blog at the time.
The photo that accompanies the misleading message circulating on social networks is also taken from this blog, according to a local media, which had republished it in 2010. Some pages of this blog, now offline, are still accessible, but the photo is not there.
Vaccination against H1N1 led by Roselyne Bachelot
When he arrived in Matignon in the midst of a health crisis, Jean Castex already knew the world of health. Between 2004 and 2006, he was Director General of Hospitalization and Care at the Ministry of Health. He then piloted the application of a reform of hospital pricing, which had earned him criticism from doctors when he arrived at Matignon in 2020. In 2006, he then joined the cabinet of Xavier Bertrand, then Minister of Health and Solidarity.
As for the H1N1 vaccination campaign, it was organized under the aegis of the Ministry of Health, which was then headed by Roselyne Bachelot. The government had ordered 90 million doses, and 5.35 million French people were vaccinated.
